A new patent law went into effect in the Netherlands on April 1, 1995. The main change is that the Patent Office will no longer examine applications for patentability. If one wishes, a patent with only a 6-year term from the filing date the patent will be granted without even a search being carried out. If a patent for a term of 20 years from the filing date is desired, the applicant will have to request a search within 13 months of the filing date or, if priority is claimed, from the priority date. If the search reveals the presence of more than one invention then the search will be confined to a single invention although divisional applications may be filed. Amendment will be possible after the search report is issued and before the patent is granted. The objective is to grant patents no later than 18 months after their Dutch filing or priority date, although this target seems to be a little ambitious.

Third parties will be able to request a search by the Patent Office on any 6-year patent and, if one wishes to enforce a 6-year patent, it will be necessary to have a search carried out and submit the results to the court before proceedings may be instituted.

Under the new law the mechanism for maintenance fee payments is changed so that the current distinction which exists between fees payable before grant and fees payable after grant will be abolished and maintenance fees will now become payable on patents on an annual basis starting 4 years after the filing of the patent application. In the case of European patents designating the Netherlands, annual fees continue to be payable as from the date on which the European patent is granted.

Dutch Courts have recently achieved some notoriety in granting injunctions against parties properly brought before the Dutch Courts prohibiting them from infringing parallel patents in other countries. This factor combined with the ability to secure a rapid grant of a Dutch patent may therefore lead to reconsideration as to whether protection in the Netherlands is best obtained through the European Patent Office or by means of the new Dutch law; however, as noted below, if the latter route is chosen one would not be able to take advantage of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Other features of the new law are:


The new Dutch law extends to the Netherlands Antilles, but it does not apply to Aruba.