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European Patent Office Updates Procedure for Issuing Grant Certificates

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As of 1 April 2022, the European Patent Office (EPO) has changed its policy regarding the issuance of electronic certificates of grant for European patents.

If the patent proprietor or their representative has an activated electronic mailbox for receiving electronic mail directly from the EPO, grant certificates will be issued electronically and can be downloaded from the mailbox.  If there is more than one proprietor, the EPO will issue a certificate to each of them.

Should the patent proprietor or their representative not have an activated electronic mailbox, the EPO will continue to issue a physical certificate, which will be transmitted by post.

If a physical certified copy of the grant certificate is required, the EPO will issue it upon request for an additional official fee. Certified copies of the grant certificate will be accompanied by a copy of the patent specification as granted.

For patents where notification of the grant is published in the European Patent Bulletin from 1 April 2022, the EPO will now issue the grant certificate with a new layout.

Further details can be found on the EPO website.