Obtaining a European patent: the different filing options

European patent applications can be filed in three different ways:

• filing can be made directly with the European Patent Office (EPO);

• it can still be filed with a national receiving office if the domestic law of that State so permits (with the INPI in France);

• finally, it can take the form of an "international" application – filed in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) –, which will then be forwarded to the EPO; the resulting patent application is known as a Euro-PCT.

The aim of this sheet is to explain the different options for filing a European patent application.