According to the European Patent Convention, a European patent application can be protected by many countries. A European patent can enjoy the same effect as a national patent in any or all member States. In this case, it can simplify the procedures of filing patent applications in many countries, save costs and facilitate applicants;
European patents are examined and approved in accordance with uniform laws. It will not cause different consequences because of the different procedures and examination requirements of patent laws in different countries, giving the applicant a sense of security;
The efficiency and quality of European patent examination and approval are guaranteed, which is faster and more economical than individual application procedures, especially in business, and can improve the value of inventions;
The European Patent Office adopts English, French and German, giving applicants greater freedom of language choice, thus reducing the cost of applying in different languages in different countries.
The adoption of separate retrieval and examination procedures by the European Patent Office is not only conducive to the timely processing of patent applications by applicants, but also conducive to the coordination of international patent cooperation treaties and the convenience of applicants submitting international patent applications.
While strengthening the management, examination and retrieval in the office, the European Patent Office also has a good and extensive cooperative relationship with intergovernmental and non-governmental patent agencies in various countries. The cooperative relationship with China National Intellectual Property Administration in the patent field is also developing and strengthening.
The European Patent Office is one of the most powerful and modern patent offices in the world. With the most complete patent literature resources, advanced patent information retrieval system and rich experience in patent examination, appeal and legal research, it has provided a lot of help to the Chinese Intellectual Property Office in literature collection, retrieval and examiner training. In addition, the two bureaus also have extensive exchanges in literature and information products.