The Dutch Patent Act 1995 is going to be modernised ! The most important change proposed is the re-introduction of the examined patent. This means that a patent is only granted if all the requirements for granting a patent have been met (novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability). At the moment, the a Dutch patent is only examined after grant by the judge (in infringement/invalidation procedures). With an examined patent, both patent holders and their competitors better know the scope of the claimed patent rights.
A short history : The Netherlands introduced the patent system already in 1817, but abolished it in 1869. It was reintroduced in 1910 (with an examined patent), but the patent system was downgraded in 1995 by introducing the 6-year patent (without prior art search, abolished in 2008) and the 20-year patent (with prior art search but unexamined). The latter is currently in force.
In addition, the scope of protection of patents at sea is being extended to the exclusive economic zone. This promotes the use of innovations in economic activities at sea, such as wind farms at sea.
There is low-threshold legal protection (objection) available against new decisions on the examined patent. In order to ensure greater uniformity in administrative and private law legal protection, an appeal can be lodged with the District Court of The Hague and cassation with the Supreme Court. It will be possible to appoint technically specialised judges at the District Court and the Court of Appeal of The Hague.
The bill will also contain proposals to make the procedure for granting a patent more customer-friendly. This includes more restoration possibilities when deadlines have been missed (such as filing a translation, payment of a validation fee, missing a deadline for filing a correction, etc.). Finally !!
At the moment, a consultation is conducted, which runs till 31 March 2025. Hence, a modernized Dutch Patent Act is not expected before 2026.
DIPS International is specialised in the restoration procedure before the Dutch Patent Office. Contact us if you need your patent restored in The Netherlands.