5.8 Designations, extensions and validations
Overview
5.8 Designations, extensions and validations
5.8.001A (flat) designation fee must be paid within 31 months of the filing date or, if priority has been claimed, the earliest priority date or within six months of the date of publication of the ISR, whichever time limit expires later. Therefore, unless the publication of the ISR was considerably delayed, the designation fee must be paid within the 31-month time limit.
5.8.002Payment of the designation fee will be effective in respect of EPC contracting states that were designated for a European patent in the international application on the international filing date (see point 2.12.001).
5.8.003Applicants are reminded that upon filing of the PCT request all PCT contracting states are automatically designated for both a national and, where applicable, a regional patent. Therefore, payment of the (flat) designation fee on entry into the European phase confirms the designation of the EPC contracting states that were EPC and PCT contracting states at the international filing date (see point 2.12.002). An exception applies where the applicant has withdrawn the designation of one or more EPC contracting states during the international phase.
5.8.004If a state for which patent protection is sought was neither an EPC contracting state nor an extension or validation state at the international filing date (see point 5.8.009), the applicant must enter the national phase in the state concerned to obtain patent protection for that state on the basis of the international application. If an extension or validation agreement was in force for a PCT contracting state on the international filing date (see points 2.13.001 ff, point 2.14.001 ff and point 5.8.009 ff), patent protection in that state may be obtained via the European procedure on the basis of the extension or validation agreement.