Validate your European Patent in Spain

European Patent Protection: How It Works

A European patent granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) can provide protection in up to 39 EPC member states through a single centralised procedure.

However, once granted, a European patent does not automatically take effect in these countries. To obtain protection, you must either:

Validate the EP patent in the countries where you seek protection, and/or
Request a Unitary Patent (for participating states only).

Why Validation is Mandatory in Spain

Spain is not part of the Unitary Patent system. This means that validating your European patent in Spain is the only way to secure enforceable patent rights in the country.

If your European patent is not validated in Spain, you have no patent protection in this market.

Requirements and Deadlines for Validating a European Patent in Spain

To validate a European patent in Spain, the following must be completed within 3 months from the publication date of the European patent grant:

Payment of official Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO) fees, which are EUR 278.28€ plus EUR 11.19 for each page of the translation over 22, including the pages of the figures regardless of whether they include translated text.
Submission of a full Spanish translation of the European patent specification.
Appointment of a Spanish-based legal representative.

Extension of Time

A 2-month extension can be requested during the initial 3-month window. This extension does not require payment of any official fee, but it must be formally approved by the SPTO before the original deadline expires.

Why the Spanish Translation is Critical

The scope of protection in Spain is defined by the Spanish translation, not the original text of the European patent as granted. A mistranslation can:

Narrow or alter the scope of your patent rights.
Expose your invention to exploitation by third parties.
Require costly corrections that do not retroactively restore lost rights.
Allow competitors to continue using your invention if they relied on the incorrect translation.

In short: a poor translation can permanently weaken your patent protection in Spain.

Use of the Spanish Translation for the Unitary Patent

If, in addition to validating in Spain, a Unitary Patent is being sought to extend the protection of the European patent in all 19 participating states, the Spanish translation for validation in Spain can be equally useful.

When applying for a Unitary Patent, it is necessary to submit to the EPO a translation of the granted European patent into the national language of one of the EPC member states, such as Spain. Therefore, if the patent is translated into Spanish for the Unitary Patent or for validation in Spain, the same translation can also be used for the other procedure.

According to the Unitary Patent statistics provided by the EPO, a Spanish translation is filed in more than 30% of Unitary Patent requests. Given that the Spanish market is potentially attractive for most inventions, translating into Spanish is advisable to reduce the costs of a potential validation in Spain.

Validate your European Patent in Spain with Elion

At Elion, we handle the full validation process on your behalf:

Spanish translations are carried out by specialised patent translators.
Every translation is reviewed by our European Patent Attorneys with expertise in the technical field of your invention. Revision by the attorney is included at no extra cost.
The entire validation is managed efficiently and cost-effectively.
We act as your professional representative before the SPTO.
We will request the extension of time if the validation is sent with little time for preparing a proper translation.

Our process ensures accuracy, compliance, and the strongest possible protection for your patent in Spain.