European Patent Validations

As one of the first firms to offer a centralised validation service, Marks & Clerk has more than 30 years of expertise, knowledge and adaptation. We handle thousands of validations every year.

A streamlined European patent validation service with transparent pricing

Start to finish through a single point of contact

A European patent validation allows you to convert a single patent into a national patent in up to 44 countries, saving both time and money. With Marks & Clerk, you’ll have a single point of contact, lifting the burden of liaising with multiple attorney firms. You’ll know the cost from the outset. And, key to ensuring validation, we guarantee high quality translation. We set up our specialist validations business in 1989 and were one of the first law firms to offer a centralised validation service.

End-to-end service

Marks & Clerk handles the whole validation process from start to finish through a single point of contact. A simple instruction identifying the patent and the country list is sufficient to start the process – no email attachments or papers are required.

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Key contacts

Luca Polverari

Partner Luxembourg Managing Partner, Conseil en Propriété Industrielle (Lux)

Luca is managing partner of our Luxembourg office, with overall responsibility for the office's validations procedure.

Amélie Vanié-Abaglo

Formalities Team Leader Certified Patent Administrator

Amélie supervises a team of formalities officers in Luxembourg, who handle the national processes to complete the validations of European Patents.

Dhana Warnke

Manager, Proofreading Department Qualified Translator

Dhana is a qualified translator with 5 years of experience in intellectual property translation. She heads the proofreading team based in Marks & Clerk's Luxembourg office.

Ioana Moraru

Validations Coordinator

Ioana joined Marks & Clerk Luxembourg in 2011, and is in charge of the coordination in the translation and validation department.

Carina Marques

Compliance Officer

Carina and the Compliance group have the primary responsibility of supporting the Validations team.

Our EP validation service

A single instruction to cover up to 44 countries, with one final invoice
Response to your enquiries and instructions within 24 hours
A single point of contact will manage your validation process from start to finish
A highly trained team of multilingual specialists
Reliable observation of deadlines
In-house proofreading and compliance system
An extensive network of trusted partners allowing a cost efficient service
Coverage in all EPO member, extension and validation states, working with trusted agents in countries where we do not act directly
Carefully selected native translators with a huge range of technical language expertise
A standardised process allows compliance checks at every step
A validation process that integrates seamlessly with other services such as patent annuities and recordals
Assured data protection

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Our client-focused service can be customised to meet your specific requirements. We are committed to building long-term partnerships with a foundation of trust and excellence.

How does European patent validation work?

Obtaining a European Patent is a lengthy process. Towards the end of this procedure two milestones are marked with:

The notice of intention to grant under Rule 71(3)
The date of grant

The communication under Rule 71(3) informs the applicant of the intention to grant the patent and invites the applicant:

To approve the text for grant
To file the translation of the claims in the other two official languages of the European Patent Office (other than the language of the proceedings)
To pay the fees for grant and publishing within four months.

Once a European Patent has been granted, it must be validated in the countries where protection is sought within three months. Forty-four states either are members of the European Patent Organisation (EPO), or concluded an agreement on extending or validating the protection conferred by granted European patents.

EP validation requires, according to national law in each county:

Translation into national language of the claims or the full patent specification
Filing a validation form
Filing additional documents such as Power Of Attorney (POA)
Registering a local Address For Service (AFS)
Official & publication fees payment

The EP validation process

European Patent application filed

3-7 years

Notification of intention to grant

Rule 71(3) communication

4 months

Obtain and file translation of allowed claims into the two other official languages of the EPO

Pay fees for grant and publication

2-4 weeks

Decision to grant

3-4 weeks

Date of grant - patent published in bulletin

3 months

National validation: filing with national patent offices of selected states, according to national requirements

Pay publication fees where applicable

next 20 years

Ongoing requirement to pay annual renewal fees for selected validation states.

National IP office requirements

The translation requirements apply only to patents drafted in English.

Country

Translation into national language

Power of Attorney

Albania	Claims only
Austria	Full patent
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Claims only
Bulgaria	Full patent
Cambodia	Claims only
Croatia	Claims only
Cyprus	Full patent
Czech Republic	Full patent
Denmark	Claims only
Estonia	Full patent
Finland	Claims only
France
Germany
Greece	Full patent
Hungary	Claims only
Iceland	Claims only
Ireland
Italy	Full patent
Latvia	Claims only
Lithuania	Claims only
Luxembourg
Malta
Republic of Moldova	Full patent
Monaco
Montenegro	Claims only
Morocco
Netherlands	Claims only
North Macedonia	Claims only
Norway	Claims only
Poland	Full patent
Portugal	Full patent
Romania	Full patent
San Marino	Full patent
Serbia	Full patent
Slovak Republic	Full patent
Slovenia	Claims only
Spain	Full patent
Sweden	Claims only
Switzerland (Liechtenstein)
Tunisia
Turkey	Full patent
United Kingdom

On your behalf, Marks & Clerk will take care of the otherwise repetitive and time-consuming administrative work that is simultaneously handled in up to 44 countries.

The Unitary Patent & Unified Patent Court

Your guide to the biggest development in European patent practice since the European Patent Convention.

Resources & guidance