9.1.1 Provisional protection under Art. 67

Pursuant to Art. 153(3), the international publication of a Euro-PCT application in an official language of the EPO takes the place of the publication of the European patent application and will be mentioned in the European Patent Bulletin on entry into the European phase. Consequently, a Euro-PCT application published by the IB in an official language of the EPO enjoys, subject to the provisions of Art. 67(3), provisional protection as provided for in Art. 67(1) and (2) as from the date of the international publication in all EPC member states. The mention of the publication in the European Patent Bulletin on entry into the European phase is thus not a condition for the provisional protection to ensue.

If the international publication of the Euro-PCT application is in a language other than an official language of the EPO, the EPO will publish the mandatory translation into one of the official languages filed on entry into the European phase (A‑XIII, 3). In that case, the provisional protection provided for in Art. 67 (1) and (2) is, subject to Art. 67(3), effective only as from the date of publication of the translation by the EPO.