Passport is both a software and service. It is an online platform where you can get instant quotes precisely tailored to your European patent. And it is a validation service provided by a team of attorneys, engineers and translators who are ready to complete your order requests. Although European patent validation is a complicated process involving several experts from different countries, the steps are usually as follows:
1. Order - Using Passport, you can place an order any time by specifying your EP details, selecting the countries in which you wish to validate and submitting your billing details.
2. Confirmation & Payment - A representative from Pintz & Partners confirms your order by sending a confirmation email containing your order details and attaching a corresponding invoice (or debit note).
3. PoA & Translation - After successful payment the representative sends you the necessary PoA documents and our attorneys and professional translators begin to translate all documents needed for validation.
4. Validation - The validation itself is handled by Pintz & Partners or a local partner appointed by Pintz & Partners depending on the country in which you wish to validate your patent.
5. Confirmation of Validation - A representative from Pintz & Partners contacts you and confirms all successful validations.
This Help page covers each and every part of the whole Passport website. It is designed to follow the exact same order as you usually encounter each element of Passport and so this way it serves also as a step-by-step guide to our entire service. When you use Passport you may click on any tag which then redirects you to the corresponding part of this page. So for example if you have difficulty filling in the EU VAT field just click on the tag "EU VAT" which will then redirect you to the part of this document where we discuss all necessary information regarding the topic.
Passport is designed and built with the latest web technologies available and because of this, it can only visited and used from the latest web browsers. Passport supports Safari 11.0.1 and later (on macOS) and Google Chrome 62.0.3202 (on macOS and Windows) or later. If you have a previous version of these browsers, please upgrade them before you start using Passport. The latest version of web browsers are not just essential for using our service but they are also crucial for numerous security reasons way beyond Passport or any of our other websites. We cannot guarantee that you can place and/or we can receive your orders using unsupported and/or outdated web browsers. Passport is currently not optimized for handheld devices.
Passport requires JavaScript to function so if you have disabled JavaScript previously in your browser, please enable it before using our service (otherwise it is enabled by default on all modern web browsers). Passport also uses cookies mainly to store session data (or in other words keep you logged in between different pages), so please enable cookies as well (it is also enabled by default). If you need more information on this particular topic, please refer to our Cookie Policy.
Calculating validation fees in advanced is an extremely complicated and difficult process that requires multiple parameters of the actual patent publication and an algorithm that combines all national, agent, translator and numerous other aspects. Passport is fully automated meaning that you only need to submit a single Publication Number and this service returns and calculates all these necessary data in the background. The patent data is provided by EPO and although we collect and check all data manually we cannot take responsibility for the accuracy of this data.
Access to Passport is currently invitation only. If you receive an invitation you may log into Passport using the credentials (username and password) provided by one of our representatives. After the first login it is advisable to visit your Account Settings and set up your own password. Passport stores passwords in an encrypted form so if you forgot your password only the system can generate you a temporary password for your account. In this case please refer to the link "Forgot password" on the login page and provide your account username. The system then generates a new password and sends it to your email address associated with your account. Please also note that your username is your email address which can be changed in your Account Settings.
The B1 document is the European patent specification. After any European patent is granted, all of its specifications are collected into this document and with a few exceptions, this document contains all initial information to start the validation processes. Every piece of information has a line number, so for example line number (11) always contains the Publication Number. In order to start your validation process, we need a few specifications that can be extracted from the B1 document. The required specifications are as follows:
- EP Number (11)
- Application Number (21)
- Language (26)
- Publication Date (45)
- Total number of pages
- Total number of claims
- Claims word count
- Description word count
In the following articles we discuss these specifications in details.
The Publication Number, or European Patent Number, or more commonly the EP Number, is the number assigned to a patent application on publication. It is a unique number and thus, the primary information that identifies all published European patents. The EP Number is located in line number (11) of the B1 document. Our service requires this number to identify the patent being validated. After you submit this number our service returns all other necessary B1 details for validation.
The full form of any EP Number comprises the letters “EP” followed by exactly 7 digits (eg.: EP 2 189 427). However, when entering the EP Number into our service, you can omit the “EP” prefix and the spaces between the digits. Our service accepts only 7 digits as a valid input.
Example of a valid input for EP Number: 2189427
The Application Number is the number assigned to a patent application when it is filed. The Application Number is located in line number (21) of the B1 document. Our service requires this number to identify the patent being validated along with the EP Number.
The full form of any Application Number comprises exactly 8 digits followed by a dot and 1 additional digit (eg.: 09165279.2). However, our service displays only the first 8 digits.
The Language is the language in which the application is published. The publication language is located in line number (26) of the patent application and it is the language of the description of the B1 document. The language can be either English, German or French only. In some countries the language can affect the official and translation fees. Our service thus uses this specification to provide exact official and translation fees (if applicable).
The Publication of Grant (more precisely the Publication Date of the Grant) is the date on which the grant of the patent application is mentioned in the Bulletin. The Publication Date of the Grant is located in line number (45) of the B1 document. After a European patent is granted and published usually there are three months for the patent to be validated in all desired countries, this date is shown as Validation Deadline. Our service checks the Publication Date of the Grant in order to verify that the patent is indeed qualified for being validated and has not been expired.
Learn more about our other conditions and restrictions regarding the available period for using our validation services in our Business Conditions and Terms of Use.
The Total Number of Pages is the total number of pages of the B1 document. Our service uses this number in order to calculate fees in those countries where the official fee is based on the number of pages submitted. When calculating official fees, our service adjusts this value to compensate length differences between languages, hovewer, in rare cases it is possible that due to different styling requirements the actual official fees are slightly bigger than calculated in Passport. These extra fees will be billed separately.
The Total Number of Claims is the total number of claims listed in the B1 document. Our service uses this number in order to calculate fees in those countries where the official fee is based on the number of claims submitted.
The Claims Word Count is the total number of words the claims in the B1 document comprises. Our service uses this number in order to calculate translation fees. When calculating translation fees, our service adjusts this value to compensate length differences between languages. Learn more about translation fee calculation in our Business Conditions and Terms of Use.
The Description Word Count is the total number of words the description in the B1 document comprises. Our service uses this number in order to calculate translation fees. When calculating translation fees, our service adjusts this value to compensate length differences between languages. Learn more about translation fee calculation in our Business Conditions and Terms of Use.
Passport has a clear and transparent pricing structure. The subtotal fee of each country consists of three distinct fees: Official Fee, Service Fee and Translation Fee. We do not charge Agent Fees, Disbursements, Security Surcharges or any other kind of hidden fees like other validator agencies. Any time you place an order, Passport calculates the final price upfront, in real time. It is a state of the art algorithm that adjusts according to currency exchange rates, translation length differences and to many more aspects.
You can order European patent validation in all 38 Contracting States to the European Patent Convention (also called member states of the European Patent Organisation) using Passport. In addition, there are nine countries where the validation can be completely free if your order is eligible. Learn more about these countries in the "Free Countries" section.
The Power of Attorney, or PoA for short, is the general name of a country specific document that is required along with the patent specifications by many local patent offices. With a Power of Attorney document, the patent owner formally commissions the representative to act on behalf of him or her during the validation process in a particular country. In this column we inform you whether or not a PoA is required in the selected countries.
After you place an order we prepare, pre-fill, format and send you all the relevant Power of Attorney documents. You only need to sign and send them back to us.
The Official Fee of a country is a fee charged by the local Patent Office. This fee is calculated using the following details of the B1 document:
- Language,
- Total Number of Pages, and
- Total Number of Claims.
The Patent Offices calculate the Official Fees quite differently. Sometimes they apply a flat fee, but sometimes they calculate the fee according to the aforementioned B1 document details. But in case of some countries (for example Malta) there is no Official Fee at all. If the specification includes sequence listings, extra government and translation fees may apply.
In case the currency of the official fee is not set in EUR, we include 1-2% extra in order to cover the risk of unanticipated changes in exchange rates. However, Passport automatically calculates this upfront and by doing so, you can be certain that you will not be charged with unexpected costs related to exchange rate changes in the future.
But despite all this, some official fees still cannot be fully calculated in advanced because a document in another language or with another styling requirements might add up to more pages than the original patent documentation. In case of these rare but possible situations you may receive a second invoice (or debit note) covering these extra official fees.
Passport is a professional but extremely inexpensive validation service, which offers the lowest Service Fees among all competitors in the World. The Service Fees include both our fee and the fee of our partners. This rate is fixed and does not change based on the details of your European patent specification.
This is the fee for translating your patent documentations into the official language of the requested countries according to the requirements set by the specific national patent offices. Calculating translation fees is extremely complicated due to the fact that the 38 patent offices have widely different translation requirements. Some countries require filing the translation of only the claims, while others require translating the whole B1 document, or even require translated versions of additional documents. In addition, if the translation of drawings, sequence listings, tables or chemical formulas are required, further adjustments are needed when calculating translation fees. Passport, however, overcomes this issue and can calculate the different translation fees for you without any additional adjustment.
For this calculation, Passport uses the details of the B1 document of your European patent that you provide at the beginning of every order. Our representative verifies these values after you place an order and issues the invoice (or debit note) using adjusted values if the submitted values are inaccurate. The following B1 Details are used to calculate translation fees:
- Language,
- Claims Word Count, and
- Description Word Count.
In addition, Passport automatically uses all possible cost saving methods whenever available including but not limited to calculating the translation fees only once if the selected countries have the same language (Cyprus and Greece, Italy and San Marino) or have the same language requirements (countries that accept English description instead of a full translation). You may notice that the translation fee of a particular country drops after adding a new country to your order.
Our online platform calculates the subtotal amount for each country separately. A Subtotal Fee of a country is the sum of the Official Fee, Service Fee and Translation Fee calculated for that specific country.
Add your company name or your name that should be on the invoice.
Example of a valid input for Bill To: "Innovation Patent and Trademark Office LLC." or "Peter White"
Add your company or personal address that should be on the invoice (number, street, etc.)
Example of a valid input for Address Line 1: "123 Main Street"
Add extra information regarding your address (apartment, office, building number, etc.).
Example of a valid input for Address Line 2: "Building No. 11"
Add your city name.
Example of a valid input for City: "Capital City"
Add your Postal code. You can use letters and numbers as well.
Example of a valid input for Postal: "1121" or "AT-5081"
You can use this country selector to quickly select the country for your invoice. You can select from EU and Non EU countries or if your country is not on the list, please select "Other" and enter the name.
Businesses with a valid VAT number are exempt from paying VAT. In order to be considered a business, you must enter your VAT number or an equivalent tax registration number here. By default, our system always adds VAT to your order but once you enter your VAT number and the number is valid, the VAT will be automatically removed.
EU businesses must enter their EU VAT numbers. This input field can accept EU VAT numbers in the following form: two letter country code followed by the identification number itself (no spaces or any other separators are allowed).
Example of a valid EU VAT input: ATU12345678
EU VAT numbers are verified automatically with local authorities via VIES (third-party provider). In a few seconds after you enter your EU VAT number the color of the input field will indicate a valid (green border) or an invalid (red border) number. Please note that you can still submit your order with an invalid EU VAT number but you cannot be exempt from paying VAT.
- If you have issues verifying your EU VAT number due to an error related to VIES, please contact our support team.
- If you need more information about VIES, please click here.
- If you need more information about VAT, visit our VAT section.
Add extra information regarding your order/case/invoice (client reference, case number, invoice number, etc.).
Example of a valid input for Client Reference: "4434AXZ"
During the validation process it is essential that we can reach you. After you place an order there are still a few steps that require action from you in order to actually complete the validation process. To do that we need to know who is going to be your Contact Person that we can reach. By default we use your name, email address and phone number associated with your Passport account. But if you feel like that somebody else is going to act on your behalf just click on the "Add Contact" button and a popup will appear where you can enter the name, email address and phone number of the contact person. The Contact Person popup is pre-filled with your account information (by default we use these details) but feel free to change them if you need.
This is the sum amount of the official fees of all selected countries. It includes all country specific calculations, currency exchanges and other adjustments. It is calculated simply by adding the official fees of all countries together. Official fees are exempt from VAT and it is billed in EUR.
This is the sum amount of the service fees of all selected countries. The Service Fee Total is calculated simply by adding the service fees of all countries together. The Service Fee Total is subject to VAT and it is billed in EUR.
This is the sum amount of the translation fees of all selected countries. The Translation Fee Total is calculated simply by adding the translation fees of all countries together. The Translation Fee Total is subject to VAT and it is billed in EUR.
Businesses with a valid VAT number are exempt from paying VAT when ordering our service. If your business is based in the EU you must present your EU VAT number. The validity of EU VAT numbers are verified automatically via VIES.
Individuals are required to pay VAT when ordering our service. If you cannot submit a valid VAT number you are considered an individual.
The VAT is 27% by Hungarian law and is calculated from the sum of all Service Fees and all Translation Fees.
This is the final amount calculated for your order including all aspects of our pricing system. The Total is the sum amount of all Official Fees, Service Fees, Translation Fees and VAT. This is the bottom line of our quote and this is the amount you are required to pay in order to start the validation process.
By placing an order you confirm that you have read and agreed our Terms of Service. Passport then processes your order and sends you a confirmation email.
After you place an order, you will receive an automatic confirmation email. In 2-3 working days a colleague from Pintz & Partners will contact you and send you an invoice (or debit note). When the invoice (or debit note) is settled with wire transfer, the validation process begins. As a first step, you will receive the Power of Attorneys form via email with clear instructions. The colleagues of Pintz & Partners will always be available for your questions by email or telephone during the validation process.
If you cancel all or part of your order after payment, you can receive a partial refund. A full refund is only provided when we have not yet instructed our partners or made payment to any of the official IP offices. A partial refund may be possible even after we've instructed our partners, but the costs occurred until the cancellation will be deducted.
You have reached the end of this page.