How to Access European Patents
There are 47 countries on the European continent. Each one of these countries has separate patent procedures which makes locating European patents difficult. The European Patent Organization (EPOrg) is an organization which was established to review and grant patents to members of a European state. However, the patents it grants are not for all of Europe but rather a bundle of national patents. The database of published patents is available to search online in several databases. Search for a patent and then find out in which countries it is enforceable.
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Instructions
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Navigate to the European Patent Office's website (see Resources).
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Look on the right side of the home page for a box which says "Quick Access." Click on the menu bar under the section labeled "Patent Information." Scroll down to find "Free Databases" or "Subscription Databases." Click on one of the two options. Free databases are a good for a lay person doing general patent research. For more advanced search functions a subscription database will be more suitable. Try the free databases first; if they don't suit your needs, switch to a subscription database.
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Click on one of the links which appears in the new window. Each link provides a detailed description of what the site contains and gives you an idea or how the search function works. If you chose a subscription database, fill out all the subscriber and payment information to create an account.
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Search in the database for an inventor, product name or patent number. Perform an advanced search to locate patents in specific countries.
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Read the patent descriptions that come up and find the applicable patents. Click on the patent to read a detailed report. The report gives the information about patent applicability, or in which European countries the patent is applicable.
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