What is the difference between an ‘examined’ and a ‘non-examined’ right? How does this work in the Netherlands?
Under the Patent Act 1910, applications were examined against the three requirements of novelty, the inventive step and industrial application. Under the new Patent Act 1995, patent rights are granted for twenty years, but the applications are not examined. Most countries do use 'examined' rights, however.When applying for a patent in the Netherlands, it is mandatory for a novelty search to be carried out, though the results of this search do not affect the subsequent granting procedure. The patent is therefore still granted, even if it emerges, for example, that the invention is not novel.
If you would like a Dutch patent to be examined, you can initiate a European procedure and then designate the Netherlands as the country in which you wish your patent right to apply.
