Of course, you never miss a deadline. Your team is highly skilled, trained, and all safety checks are in place. However, sometimes these things happen. In many cases (but not all), it may still be possible to remedy the situation by filing a restoration request, either in the Netherlands or at the European Patent Office.

Act quickly - restoration period

The general rule is that a Restoration Request, which is also referred to as a Request for Re-establishment of Rights or Restitutio in Integrum, must be filed within 2 months after the lapse is first established. However, this time limit may be considerably shorter because in general there is also a cut-off point – depending on the case this ranges from between 2-12 months - calculated from the missed deadline. Moreover, the case has to be presented in as much detail as possible from the start because it is not always possible to add further information at a later stage. For all these reasons it is important to act quickly and to not waste valuable time.

Requirements for successful restoration of patent

To successfully restore a patent, it is essential to demonstrate that the "all due care" requirement has been met. This usually involves outlining the administrative procedures in place within the organization and showing that these procedures are robust and designed to prevent foreseeable errors. Additionally, you must prove that the missed deadline resulted from an excusable error.