European Patent (EPO) Validation in Greece

1. Terms for patent validation in Greece

The period for filing the translation in 3 months after the date on which the mention of the grant or the decision to maintain the patent as amended is published in the European Patent Bulletin.

The EP application and publication numbers, the applicant’s name and address and the title of the invention in Greek must be submitted with the translation.

2. Conditions for patent validation in Greece

2.1 Translation – The translation must be certified by a Greek legal practitioner or by an authority empowered to do so (i.e. the Translation Dept. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 10 Arionos Street, Athens, or any Greek Consulate abroad).

• For provisional protection: it is required a translation of the complete patent specification, in Greek.
• After grant: a translation of the patent specification into Greek must be supplied. Due date is 3 months after the date on which the mention of the grant or the decision to maintain the patent as amended is published in the European Patent Bulletin.

2.2 Payment of patent validation and national registration fees:

There is a special fee to be paid: 100EUR. Due date for the payment is the date on which translation is filed with the OBI. Mention of the filing of the translation is published only when the fee has been paid.

3. Effect of the European patent as a national Greek patent

Under Article 64(1) EPC, a European patent automatically confers on its proprietor from the date on which the mention of the grant is published in the European Patent Bulletin, in each contracting state in respect of which it is granted, the same rights as would be conferred by a national patent granted in that state.

4. Patent annuities in Greece

• Due date: last day of the month in which the date of filing occured.
• Earliest possible date for payment: any time after the filing date.
• Period of grace for payment of fees (with surcharge): 6 months from due date.

In case that your patent was filed not as EPO (European patent) patent, but as PCT (WIPO, international patent), in order to obtain the protection on the national level, you may need to open your patent to the national phase in Greece.