EP Validation – create a file in Continux

Geändert am Fr, 16 Jan um 2:24 NACHMITTAGS

Once a European patent has been granted, you can create an EP validation file for each country in which protection is required. These files represent the classic national validation countries of a European patent and are created directly from the main EP file.

Prerequisites in the European patent file
Before creating the EP validation file(s), make sure that:

the European patent has been granted,
the grant details are correctly entered in the EP file,
all required bibliographic fields are completed.

Why is this important?
When you create validation files, all relevant bibliographic data is automatically copied from the EP file. The same data also provides the basis for automatically calculated deadlines, for example for annuities.

The step-by-step guide to creating EP validation file(s) is as follows:
1. In Continux, open the granted EP file.
2. In the top right corner, click the “Extend Family” dropdown menu.
3. In the menu, select “Validation”.

4. The “Validation” input section opens so you can create the validation files.

5. Enter the desired countries.

Use the two-letter country codes according to the WIPO‑ISO standard (e.g. CH for Switzerland, GB for United Kingdom).
After selecting a country, confirm with Enter to add another country if needed, and so on.
To create more than one file at the same time, you can enter multiple countries in this field.

By default, the country code is automatically appended to the EP file reference.
Example (default):

EP_ProjectBeta_CH (Switzerland),

EP_ProjectBeta_GB (United Kingdom)

6. (optional) Use custom file references

Alternatively, you can enter your own file references in the “Internal File No.” field. With this optional manual reference entry, only one country file can be created at a time.

7. Click the green “Create” button to generate the validation files.
8. The system now automatically creates a separate EP validation file for each selected country. The green bar confirms that the validation files have been created successfully.

9. After creation, the new files automatically appear in the family tree of the original EP file.

Additional fields, data transfer and deadlines

All relevant data, such as filing and grant dates, title, inventors, applicants and representatives, has been copied automatically from the EP file.
In each validation file, you can then manually add country‑specific information if required.
For EP validation files, renewal fee due dates are generated automatically as part of the workflow file creation, based on the transferred data.

Helpful tips
Accidentally used optional step 6? Typo in the file reference? Or do you want to create a unitary patent file instead? See:
➔ Deleting and restoring files in Continux
➔ Unitary patent instead of classic EP validation?