Dutch patents

A Dutch patent can be obtained easily by filing a Dutch patent application. A Dutch patent is valid in the Netherlands only.

 

The procedure

In the Netherlands the granting of patents is done by the official body which is known by the name "Octrooicentrum Nederland" (Netherlands Patent Office) - the successor of the previous "Octrooiraad" (Patent Office) and "Bureau voor de Industriële Eigendom" (Netherlands Industrial Property Office) - which is established at Rijswijk. A patent cannot be granted unless a patent application has been filed, in which the invention is disclosed and the rights being applied for are defined.

Before 1995 a lengthy procedure for grant ensued once a patent application had been filed, with the Octrooiraad eventually deciding whether or not a patent was to be granted. Under the Patents Act which took effect as of 1 April 1995, the procedure for grant becomes much simpler. That Patents Act distinguished between two kinds of patents, viz. the 6-year patent and the 20-year patent. The 6-year patent was granted in those cases where a request for a novelty search was not made within a particular period after the filing of the patent application. In those cases, only a formalities examination was made and the patent application was automatically granted and registered in the public patent register eighteen months after the filing date. The 20-year patent was obtained by filing the above-mentioned request for a novelty search. The further procedure included the issuing by the Netherlands Patent Office of the search report and a non-binding opinion about the relevance of the documents found in the search report. The applicant was given the option of amending the patent application on the basis of this search report and opinion. Subsequently the patent was granted automatically for a maximum of twenty years, independent of the prior art mentioned in the search report and the contents of the opinion.

As of 7 June 2008 a new Patent Act is in effect. The 6-year patent has been abolished. This non-searched patent caused too much uncertainty to third parties. Only the 20-year patent remains. Under the new Patent Act a request for a novelty search must be made within 13 months from the filing date, otherwise the patent application will be abandoned.

With the Patent Act of 7 June 2008 it becomes possible to file the description of a patent application in English. Only the claims need to be filed in Dutch.

 

Role of the patent attorney

Although in the Netherlands a patent will be granted to every application, this certainly does not mean that it is easy to obtain a valid and useful patent. There is no assessment by or any assistance from the official body, so the responsibility rests with the applicant himself. That is why it is important to use the services of a patent attorney in order to come to a sound patent application. De Vries & Metman can provide all the assistance that you may need in e.g. drafting the patent application, assessing the search report and non-binding opinion, or amending the claims.

 

What is required?

It takes more than an abstract idea without practical implementation to come to a patent application. The fact is that a patent application must indicate the way in which the invention can be implemented in practice. This practical implementation needs not be elaborate for that matter, although a patent application will gain in strength if more details can be provided. The invention need not have been realised in practice yet; the mere ideas for such implementation will suffice. In those cases where the invention relates to a machine or a product, it is highly advisable to provide a (schematic) drawing. In a meeting (more than one meeting may be necessary) with the applicant, the patent attorney will try to gather all the information that he needs to draft a sound patent application. During this meeting or these meetings, various alternatives and possible other solutions which enable the patent attorney to claim the broadest possible protection may come up. After having gathered all this information, the patent attorney will submit a first draft for the patent application to the applicant. After the applicant has given his approval, the application can be filed with the Netherlands Patent Office. Once all the necessary information is available, it will take about 2 - 4 weeks on average before the patent application can be filed. Other terms can be agreed upon.

 

Secrecy

The invention must be kept secret until the day the patent application is filed with the Netherlands Patent Office. Only after the patent application has been filed can the invention be freely discussed with third parties or can information on the invention be made public in any other manner without jeopardizing the patent application. If the inventor nevertheless needs to discuss his invention with outsiders before having filed a patent application, the outsider will have to be informed of the confidentiality of the matter. It is even better to have the outsider sign a confidentiality agreement. It is further noted that in general a patent application is not laid open to the public during the first 18 months starting from the filing date or priority date. During this period, outsiders thus do not have access to the filed application.

 

The costs

The honoraria and official fees for filing and obtaining a national or international search reports are available upon request.