European Union patent protection

Once a patent is granted (or issued ) it will remain in force subject to payment of renewal fees. Typically, the duration of a patent is twenty years from the filing date. In general the patent monopoly extends until the expiry of the patent. However, in the European Union and some other European countries, and in the USA and elsewhere, there are provisions for extending the term of protection for a specific approved medical product which is covered by a patent when there have been delays in obtaining regulatory approval. For example, in European Union countries a supplementary protection... 

Patents and the patenting system represent the orderly system of public documents used in most parts of the world to handle much of this kind of information. Patent protection is of substantial importance to chemical as well as other companies. Patents must be applied for in each country or region (e.g., the European Union) for which protection is desired. Otherwise, the subject of a patent may be practiced and the product sold without license in any country in which this precaution has not been taken. Composition of matter patents, which relate primarily to newly discovered chemical compounds, are issued on successful application by an inventor (individual or company). Utility (i.e., some type of useful function of the compound) must be demonstrated before a patent application of this type can be filed. In return this class of patent provides the best kind of protection for a new compound because the compound itself is protected from its sale by others for the 17- to 20-year life of a patent, regardless of the synthetic route developed to produce it. 

The term of patent in the United States and most countries that belong to the European Union (EU) lasts for 20 years from the time the inventor submits his application. A patent is not renewable. Once the patent expires, the invention becomes part of the public domain, and anyone can make, use, or commercialize the invention without the permission from the inventor [1], In the pharmaceutical industry, the average interval between the discovery of a new drug and its final approval by the Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.) for human consumption is 10 years, which includes the time required to conduct clinical research, product development, as well as an F.D.A. review. Thus, most pharmaceutical companies can expect that they will have about 10 years to recoup the money they have invested in a new drug before the patent expires. Once the patent expires, the name of the drug may still have trademark protection, but other companies can manufacture and market a generic... 

Prof. Proimos s research interests were mainly focused on the physics of radiotherapy and the development of conformal radiotherapy techniques using protection of vital organs by absorbers rotating synchronously with the patient (1957-1960) and by gravity oriented devices (1960-2002). From 1994 to 1997 he was coordinator of a concerted action of BIOMED I called DYNARAD (DYNAmic RADiotherapy) involving 30 radiotherapy centers within the European Union. Prof. Proimos has published numerous articles on Physics of Radiotherapy in international refereed journals, seven technical and scientific books and he holds two patents for an original radiotherapy unit. 

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