How is a patent application examined in the Netherlands?

A Dutch patent application is examined against formal requirements. If any missing details are identified, the applicant is informed within one month following the filing date, and is granted a period in which to rectify the omissions. If these missing details are not rectified on time or if they are incorrect, the application will expire.

The content of an application is not examined for novelty, the inventive step and industrial application. This examination of content only takes place at a later stage (in other words, after the patent has been granted) if legal proceedings have been initiated. In this case, the judge may ask for the advice of NL Patent Office.

An applicant is therefore him/herself responsible for the choice of whether or not to have an invention protected that may not be patentable, because, for example, the invention is no longer novel. The applicant can perform a search him/herself using the patent databases in order to ascertain whether an invention is novel. If you require assistance with your search, you can request search assistance free of charge.