European patent

European patent

European patent applications

The SPTO is an organisation with the authority to receive European patent applications. However, the grant procedure is administered by the European Patent Office. Therefore, some formalities must be carried out with the European Patent Office, such as the entry into the European phase of PCT applications, the filing of documents related to the grant procedure for European patent applications after the application, and formalities relating to the procedure for objecting to the grant of European patents.

Validation of European patents

Title XIV, Chapter I of Law 24/2015 of 24 July 2015, on Patents, regulates the filing of translations for the purposes of obtaining provisional or definitive protection in Spain.  The translation may refer to the claims in the application and, where relevant, in the text of the drawings (provisional protection when the application has been published by the EPO). Alternatively, it may refer to the complete text of the European patent, whether granted or not, modified following an opposition procedure or limited as a consequence of a limitation procedure (definitive protection). These translations relating to the validation of European patents in Spain should not be confused with the translations required during the patent granting procedure regulated by the Convention. These must be filed at the European Patent Office in the ways indicated by the EPO.

Electronic presentation

Both European patent applications and documents for validations and other formalities can be filed electronically through the EPO Online Filing (eOLF) application. This is a free application developed with the European Patent Office.

More information on European patents is available at: European patent