European patent

It is possible to get patents in European countries with a single, harmonized procedure before the European Patent Office. A single patent application is filed at the European Patent Office in one of the national languages of that office (currently English, French or Germany) and prosecuted through the usual search and examination stages until grant is achieved. Once grant is achieved, protection only becomes effective in the designated territories when a translation of the specification including the claims is filed at the national Patent Office of each designated territory in which protection is required. Once the translation of the specification is filed in any particular territory, the European patent becomes equivalent to a national patent in that country.

There is currently no single Europe-wide patent. Right now there is a lot of work going on to create a Community Patent in the European Union.