A single European patent application allows you to seek patent protection in up to 46 countries, including countries outside the European Union. For the member states, you can postpone your final choice of countries where you want the European patent to take effect until it is granted.
The European route provides access to the following 46 countries: 40 member states of the European Patent Organisation, one extension state, and five validation states.
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As of October 21, 2026. The countries available depend in part on your application’s filing date. Extension and validation are subject to additional requirements and fees.
After you file your European patent application, the European Patent Office prepares a search report. It lists publications that the European Patent Office considers relevant to the assessment of your application. The report is generally available within six months of filing the European application.
The European patent application and search report are published eighteen months after the filing of your first Dutch priority application. This is normally six months after filing the European application.
The European Patent Office starts substantive examination once you have paid the examination fee. This fee must be paid no later than six months after publication of the search report. If objections have been raised in the search report, you must also respond to those objections.
In the best-case scenario, the European Patent Office confirms that your application is acceptable. In practice, there is often a written exchange about the application.
As the applicant, you aim to obtain the broadest possible protection. At the same time, the claimed invention must be new and inventive in light of the publications cited in the search report.
In the worst-case scenario, the European Patent Office refuses your application. You may be able to appeal that decision.
To keep your European patent application pending, you must pay annual renewal fees from the third year after filing. After grant, renewal fees for nationally validated patents are paid annually to the relevant national patent offices.
Approval by the European Patent Office does not automatically result in grant. You must also pay the grant fee and submit translations of the claims. The claims must be available in French, German, and English for publication.
During the first nine months after grant, others can file an opposition against your patent. They can present reasons why they believe the patent should not have been granted. In practice, approximately one in twenty granted patents is opposed.
For your European patent to take effect in an individual country, it must be registered or validated with that country’s national patent office. You can also choose a Unitary Patent, which allows your European patent to take effect in several participating countries at once.
National validation often requires payment of a fee. In many cases, you must also submit a translation of the European patent into an official language of the country concerned.
The timeline below is indicative and assumes that you start with a Dutch patent application.
