http://www.epo.org/applying/european/Guide-for-applicants.html
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How to get a European patent
17th edition, July 2017, updated to 1 July 2017
The “Guide for applicants” has been designed to provide inventors, companies and their representatives with an outline of the procedure involved in applying for a European patent, offering practical advice to smooth the way through the various stages.
Content description
This updated 17th (July 2017) edition of the Guide is based on the revised European Patent Convention (EPC 2000) which entered into force on 13 December 2007. All references to articles or rules in the Guide therefore
relate to the EPC as in force since that date. The
Guide cannot go into the details or specific issues of the European patent
grant procedure, and it does not constitute an official commentary on the European Patent
Convention (EPC).
If you need more detailed information, you are advised to
consult the Guidelines for Examination in the European Patent Office, a
comprehensive guide to every stage of the grant procedure and to EPO practice.
Available formats and amendments
To consult the most up-to-date version of “How to get a European patent, Guide for applicants (17th edition, July 2017)”, please use the HTML
files.
In the HTML publication, modifications can be viewed by ticking the “Show modifications” box in the upper right corner, which displays inserted text with a green background and deleted text in red strikethrough font. For sections in which no changes have been made, the tick box is greyed out.
The PDF
files reflect the latest printed edition of “How to get a European patent, Guide for applicants (17th edition, July 2017)”.
While the HTML version is optimised for online use, the
PDF version offers the best solution for off-line browsing, including full-text
search functionality.
A printed version of the Guide is also available (see the
following section for how to order it).
The content of the Guide is also available as an e-learning
module.
Order
The printed version of “How to get a European patent, Guide for applicants (17th edition, July 2017)” can be ordered using this order
form. It is available in English, French and German.