Luxembourg Short-Term Patent Process Explained

Luxembourg has long been known for its flexible innovation environment, and it is now accelerating innovation development through a simplified short-term patent process. This provides a quick and effective way to protect your ideas, making it an ideal choice for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Authority:

• Luxembourg Intellectual Property Office (OPI), https://ipil.lu/fr/s-informer/quest-ce-que-la-pi/propriete-industrielle/

Short-Term of Protection:

• 6 years from the filing date

Filing Deadline:

• Paris Convention: 12 months from the earliest priority date (OPI permits reinstatement of rights under the “due care” criterion)
• PCT Routine:
  • Under Chapter I: 20 months from the priority date
  • Under Chapter II: 30 months from the priority date

Required Documents: 

• Documents Required Luxembourg Short-term Patent Application
  • Specification
  • Claims
  • Figures
  • Abstract
  • Abstract Figures
• Additional Documents:
  • Certified copy of the Priority Document along with English translation (DAS unavailable, if any)
  • Inventor’s Statement
• Information Needed:
  • Name and full address of the applicant(s)
  • Name and contact address of the inventor(s)
  • Priority data (if any)

Process & Procedure: 

• OPI only conducts formality examination for a short-term patent. Patents are granted without substantive examination.
• Granting will be proceeding within 6 months once the following 6 conditions are met:
  • Application filed in English, a translation of the claims in French or German has been filed.
  • A certified copy of the priority application has been filed along with a translation in English, French or German. A declaration that the text is the same as the Luxembourg patent application is also acceptable.
  • A request for early publication has been made and the early publication fee has been paid.
  • The applicant has either validated a prior search report* (for a regular 20-year patent) or declared that he wants a short-term 6-year patent without search report.
  • A search report along with the translation in French, German or English can be accepted.
  • The applicant has declared to renounce the right to file amendments of the application documents.

Granting Time:

• 6 - 9 months from the filing date given the above-mentioned 6 conditions are met.

(Image from the Luxembourg Intellectual Property Office website)