NL Patent Office

Restoration of your patent

If you wish to know whether a patent is valid in another country, please consult the relevant patent register. You can find links to the websites of national patent authorities of other countries on our website.

You can find out whether a particular patent is still in force in the Netherlands by consulting the Dutch patent register. If the patent has expired, you would therefore be permitted to make use of the technology described in the patent in the Netherlands. Please note, however, that if a patent has lapsed inadvertently, a patent holder may file a request to restore a patent up to one year after that date. If a patent holder files this request, it will be mentioned in the Dutch patent register. 

Lapse of a patent right
If you miss an official deadline, your patent right may lapse. If a patent right lapses, it may only be restored in particularly exceptional circumstances. The patent holder must then submit what is known as an application to restore a patent.

Some official deadlines do not result in the lapse of your patent if you miss them. An example is the deadline for invoking a right of priority. If you miss this deadline, you are still permitted to submit an application to restore a patent.

Application to restore a patent
The restoration procedure requires that you must inform NL Patent Office in writing of the reason why you missed the official deadline. This application must be submitted within a period of one year after the lapse and within two months after express knowledge of the lapse. You are also required to pay the amounts that would have been due had the deadline not been missed, plus a fee of 161 euro for processing your restoration application.

Further information
If you have any questions, please contact the public information office by e-mailaddress This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone number +31 88 602 60 00.