IRF

Specifications published by different patent offices for the same invention. Together they form the patent family.

An interstate system for the protection of inventions on the basis of a single patent valid in the territory of all the Contracting States. At present, there are 9 such States: Turkmenistan, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Russian Federation, the Azerbaijan Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kirghiz Republic, the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Moldova. The Eurasian Patent Convention entered into force on August 12, 1995.

Classification assigned by the European Patent Office. The format is similar to IPC with extensions at the subclass level. See also http://ep.espacenet.com/help?locale=en_EP&method=handleHelpTopic&topic=ecla

The European Patent Convention (EPC) signed in 1973, established a system of law, common to the contracting states for the grant of patents for invention in Europe. Currently the Contracting States are: AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LI, LT, LU, LV, MC, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK, TR. Patents granted by virtue of the EPC are called European patents. A European Patent Organisation is established by this Convention. It has an administrative and financial autonomy. The organs of that Organisation are: a European Patent Office and an Administrative Council. The task of the Organisation is to grant European patents. This shall be carried out by the European Patent Office supervised by the Administrative Council.

The process between the patent office and the patent applicant/assignee of examining the novelty and inventive step/obviousness of the patent claims based on the prior art.

The date when a patent has run its full term in a country and is no longer protected there.