There is no single EU patent office. To get a patent in the European Union, you file one application at the European Patent Office (EPO) under the European Patent Convention, which has 40 member states. After grant you validate it country by country or request a Unitary Patent for 18 EU states. It never covers Nepal.
Key takeaways
- The EPO is not an EU body. Its treaty, the European Patent Convention (EPC), has 40 member states.
- Nepal is not in the PCT, so a Nepali applicant files at the EPO directly, usually within 12 months of a Nepal filing under the Paris Convention.
- An applicant based outside the EPC states needs a European professional representative after filing.
- The EPO publishes the application 18 months after the filing or priority date, then examines it only on request.
- After grant, choose national validation, a Unitary Patent, or both.
- A European patent lasts up to 20 years from filing and does not protect you in Nepal.
Is there one patent office for the European Union?
No. The EPO grants European patents under the EPC, a treaty in force since 1977 and separate from the EU. According to the EPO's member list, read on 18 October 2026, it has 40 member states: all 27 EU countries plus 13 others, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway and Türkiye. The Republic of Moldova became the 40th on 1 June 2026.
The system reaches a little further. Bosnia and Herzegovina is an extension state, and Morocco, Tunisia, Cambodia, Georgia and Laos are validation states, where a European patent can take effect on request.
The EU added the Unitary Patent in 2023. It sits on top of an ordinary European patent rather than replacing it.
What are the routes to patent protection in Europe?
There are three, and many owners mix them.
| Route | Where you file | What you end up with | Renewal fees paid to |
|---|---|---|---|
| National patent | Each country's patent office | One patent per country | Each national office |
| Classic European patent | The EPO, once | A bundle of national patents after validation | Each country where validated |
| Unitary Patent | The EPO, then a request after grant | One right in the 18 participating states | The EPO, in one payment |
For a Nepali business selling into several European markets, the EPO route is usually the starting point.
Can a company in Nepal file at the EPO?
Yes. Article 58 of the EPC lets any natural or legal person file, whatever their nationality.
Under Article 133(2), an applicant with no residence or principal place of business in an EPC state must be represented by a professional representative and act through them in every proceeding except filing the application itself. So a Nepali company can lodge the first filing, but later steps go through a European patent attorney.
IP Sewa files patents in Nepal only. Our patent registration team prepares the Nepal filing that your European attorney can claim priority from.
Why can't a Nepali applicant use the PCT?
Many guides describe a "Euro-PCT" route: one international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, entering the EPO 31 months from priority. It is not open from Nepal.
Nepal's treaty record on WIPO Lex lists the WIPO Convention, the Paris Convention, the Berne Convention and a signed Marrakesh Treaty, but no PCT. A Nepali applicant on its own cannot file a PCT application, so it goes to the EPO directly.
How does the 12-month Paris route work from Nepal?
Nepal joined the Paris Convention by accession, in force from 22 June 2001, and has been a WTO member since 23 April 2004. Either link is enough for Article 87 of the EPC: a first patent application filed in Nepal gives you 12 months to file at the EPO and keep the Nepal date.
Under Article 89, the priority date counts as your European filing date when the EPO judges novelty.
Two papers follow. Rule 52 asks for a priority declaration naming the Nepal date, country and file number, and Rule 53 asks for a copy of the Nepal application certified by the Department of Industry. Both are due within 16 months of the priority date.
Priority covers only what the Nepal filing disclosed (Article 88(3)). Our page on the Paris Convention in Nepal covers the Nepal side.
What does the EPO need to give you a filing date?
Article 78 lists the parts of a European application: a request for grant, a description, one or more claims, any drawings the text refers to, and an abstract. Filing and search fees are due too, or the application is treated as withdrawn.
The EPO works in English, French and German. Under Article 14 and Rule 6, you may file in another language, but a translation into one of the three is due within two months. Filing in English avoids that step.
The claims carry the most weight: under Article 84 they define what is protected, and must be clear and supported by the description.
What does the EPO test, and how is that different from Nepal?
Article 52 grants patents for inventions in all fields of technology that are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application. Inventive step means the invention is not obvious to a person skilled in the art (Article 56).
Discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, business methods and computer programs are excluded "as such". A payment-app idea alone will struggle, while software that solves a technical problem may qualify.
Novelty is strict. Under Article 54, anything made public anywhere before the filing or priority date counts against you, and Article 55 excuses only abuse or an officially recognised international exhibition.
Nepal's test is worded differently. Sec. 5 of the Patent, Design and Trade Mark Act 1965 asks whether an invention is new and useful to the general public. Our guides on what can be patented in Nepal and what cannot be patented cover that side.
What are the steps to a European patent?
- Keep it confidential until your first filing.
- File first in Nepal, if Nepal matters. That fixes your priority date.
- File at the EPO within 12 months, claiming priority.
- Receive the search report. It lists the closest earlier documents, with a written opinion (Rule 62).
- Publication at 18 months from priority (Article 93).
- Request examination. Rule 70 allows six months from the Bulletin mention of the search report; miss it and the application is treated as withdrawn.
- Answer the examiner. You may amend the claims in reply (Article 94(3)).
- Complete grant. Rule 71(3) gives four months to file the claims in the other two EPO languages; grant takes effect when the European Patent Bulletin mentions it.
Our guide to patent registration steps from idea to grant walks through the same journey in Nepal.
How long does a European patent take?
Only two points are fixed by law: publication 18 months from priority, and a six-month window to request examination after the search report. Everything after that depends on how many objections the examiner raises and how quickly your representative answers.
The EPC sets no overall deadline for grant, so treat any quoted total as a guess.
What happens after grant: validation or a Unitary Patent?
A classic European patent becomes, under Article 2(2), a set of national patents. Some states require a translation within three months of the grant mention (Article 65).
The Unitary Patent works differently. Within one month of the grant mention, you may ask the EPO for unitary effect, giving one right across the 18 participating states, provided the patent was granted with the same claims for all 25 states in the scheme.
The 18 states, per the EPO's page updated June 2026, are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden. Spain, Poland, Ireland and the UK are not among them.
Can someone challenge a European patent after grant?
Yes. Under Article 99, any person except the owner may file an opposition at the EPO within nine months of the grant mention. The grounds are limited: the invention is not patentable, it is not disclosed clearly enough, or the patent goes beyond the application as filed.
A revocation applies in every state the patent covers. Since 1 June 2023, the Unified Patent Court also hears infringement and revocation cases for Unitary Patents and European patents in the states that have ratified its agreement.
How long does a European patent last, and what keeps it alive?
Article 63 sets the term at 20 years from the filing date. Renewal fees fall due to the EPO from the third year while the application is pending (Article 86), with a six-month grace period on an extra fee.
After grant, each validated country collects its own renewal fee. A Unitary Patent has one renewal fee, paid to the EPO.
A Nepal patent works on a different clock. Under Sec. 8 it lasts seven years from registration and is renewable twice, so 21 years is the maximum. Our renewal calculator works out the Nepal dates, and our page on patent renewal in Nepal explains the filing.
Does a European patent protect you in Nepal?
No. Sec. 21B of the Act says a patent registered abroad is not valid in Nepal unless it is registered here. Sec. 21C lets the Department of Industry register a foreign-registered patent without enquiries when the foreign certificate is enclosed, and gives Paris Convention facilities.
In Nepal, the Department issues a registration certificate when it registers a patent (Sec. 7(1)), then publishes the patent in the Nepal Gazette (Sec. 7A(1)). Anyone who objects has 35 days from seeing or copying it (Sec. 7A(3)).
Because the first-to-file principle generally applies, file in Nepal before any public disclosure. The Law Commission's consolidated Act holds these sections, and the Department of Industry receives the filing.
What does a European patent cost from Nepal?
Costs arrive in stages: drafting, filing and search, examination replies, grant, translations, validation and years of renewal fees. Claims, countries and objections drive the total.
Budget the Nepal filing separately. Our page on patent cost factors in Nepal covers the home side, and our team will quote the Nepal work through our contact page.
Common mistakes Nepali applicants make
- Disclosing before filing. A public trade-fair demo can count as prior art.
- Missing month 12. The Paris deadline does not move.
- Filing a thin Nepal application. Priority covers only what it discloses.
- Forgetting the examination request. Silence after the search report leads to withdrawal.
- Assuming "EU patent" means all of Europe. A Unitary Patent covers 18 states, not 40.
- Confusing a patent with a design. Appearance alone belongs to design registration.
What does a Nepal-to-Europe plan look like?
Take Himal Circuit Labs, a fictional Kathmandu company that has built a low-power controller for water purifiers. This is an illustration, not a real case.
It files a full specification at the Department of Industry in March and keeps it confidential. Its European attorney files at the EPO in English the following February, claiming the Nepal date.
After grant, it requests a Unitary Patent for its French and German licensees and validates separately in Spain. A patent search first would have sharpened the claims.
In short
To get a patent in the European Union, file one application at the EPO, usually within 12 months of a Nepal filing, through a European representative. Then choose national validation, a Unitary Patent, or both.
Our guides on patent registration strategy and international patent filing from Nepal help you decide which countries justify the cost.
People also search for
- Patent registration in Nepal
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Planning a patent in Nepal before you go to Europe? Talk to our patent team or contact IP Sewa for a filing plan that keeps your priority date safe.
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