Patent application and claims in the Netherlands

Requirements and procedure to protect patents in the Netherlands

In order to be eligible for a patent in the Netherlands, you must have devised a technical invention that complies with three material conditions.  Requirements for patent registration in the Netherlands are:

Novelty

• The product or process may not have been made public anywhere in the world before the date of submitting the patent application, not even through the activities of the inventor himself (e.g. by means of a company brochure or a presentation at a trade fair).
• Inventive step
• The invention may not be obvious to a professional.
• Industrial application
• The invention must relate to a technically demonstrable functioning product or production process

Patent protected?

Patent infringement and advise on Dutch law

A Dutch lawyer can advise on the aspects of the Dutch patent law system. The Dutch court is competent to hear cases of patent infringement taking place in the Netherlands. The infringing party in the Netherlands can summoned to Court by a Dutch attorney. Profits  earned with infringements and damages can be fully collected from the tort feaser.

Dutch agency provides support on Dutch patents and innovation

NL Patent Office is a service agency which is closely associated with many (inter)national organisations in the field of intellectual property rights. NL Agency supports international cooperation and development efforts, both private and public, and encourages knowledge institutes in knowledge valorization. Do you have an international project in a developing country or an emerging market? You can check out what NL Agency can do for you.

The agency provides support and supervision to entrepreneurs, service organisations, scientists, researchers, students and other interested parties in the Netherlands, NL Patent Office provides training programmes, gives advice and publishes various brochures and other publications (in Dutch only).

If you are not from the Netherlands you also contact The European Patent Office or the National office of your own country.