Overview
The European Patent Office (EPO) examines and grants European patents under the European Patent Convention (EPC). After grant, a patent can take effect in designated contracting states or as a Unitary Patent. Cross-border sellers do not visit Munich for sourcing; they use free Espacenet to see whether a motor, hinge, or circuit is covered in Europe before listing on Amazon.de, .fr, .it, or .es. The official search hub is epo.org/en/searching-for-patents; the app is worldwide.espacenet.com.
This is not the EU trade mark office (that is EUIPO) and not Amazon’s complaint form. Espacenet offers more than 150 million patent documents worldwide, updated daily, free of charge, and not for bulk crawling. U.S. drawings and prosecution files still belong on USPTO systems; European legal status belongs on the European Patent Register. Applicants without a residence or principal place of business in an EPC contracting state generally must appoint a European professional representative to file.
Sellers treat the EPO as a patent radar for EU marketplaces. Massage guns, vacuum battery bays, and folding strollers that draw complaints on DE/FR often have a matching EP publication on Espacenet. File a European or Unitary Patent only if you actually want the right — that is MyEPO, Online Filing 2.0, official fees, and attorney costs.
Core features and advantages
Espacenet worldwide search
Espacenet searches keywords, applicants, classifications (including a CPC browser), and publication numbers, with machine translation. Sellers use it to see what a competitor published in Europe and which countries sit in the family. Global Dossier opens file wrappers where IP5 offices (USPTO, JPO, KIPO, CNIPA, EPO) make them available; the Common Citation Document merges IP5 citations. Sourcing workflow: structural keywords → nearby EP/WO documents → drawings versus your tooling. Espacenet is free 24/7. Robots and bulk harvesting are blocked; automated retrieval belongs on Open Patent Services (OPS).
European Patent Register and Publication Server
The European Patent Register shows legal status: grant, opposition, designated states, Unitary Patent request. The European Publication Server is the legally authoritative source of EPO A documents (applications) and B documents (granted specifications), typically updated Wednesdays at 14:00 CET. When Amazon EU sends a patent complaint, check the Register for whether the right is in force and who owns it — not just the number in the email. The Register is not an infringement opinion.
MyEPO and Online Filing 2.0
Filing, submissions, and fees go through MyEPO and web filing. The EPO’s standard online filing tool from 1 January 2026 is Online Filing 2.0; the older eOLF desktop software was discontinued. Mailbox delivers official communications; Central Fee Payment handles fees and refunds. A presidential decision on MyEPO entered into force on 1 April 2026; inspection of unpublished applications remains restricted under the EPC. Sourcing-only sellers do not need MyEPO. Open it when you or your European representative must file EP, PCT, or Unitary Patent papers.
Supported platforms
The EPO is the European patent route under the EPC, and it acts in the PCT international phase as receiving Office / ISA where chosen. It does not grant EU trade marks and does not connect to Seller Central. Seller use is patent risk on Amazon.de / .fr / .it / .es and European filings for original structure. The UK after Brexit is UKIPO territory for trade marks; European patents in the UK are a separate validation question. “We searched Espacenet” is not a UK right. Espacenet’s worldwide index includes U.S. and Japanese documents; the authoritative U.S. grant text is still USPTO.
Who it's for
- Solo / small teams listing a structured or electronic SKU on EU Amazon stores: Espacenet plus the Register before inbound.
- Mid-size brands watching competitor EP filings, opposition windows, and Unitary Patent requests.
- Sellers with original technology filing EP or Euro-PCT through a European professional representative; smaller applicants may qualify for EPO fee reductions — check the live schemes.
- Skip it if you do not sell in Europe, or if you thought EPO was where you file an EU trade mark.
Concrete use case: before a German FBA inbound of a vacuum battery bay, search Espacenet with structural terms and CPC, then open the Register for grant, in-force status, and owner. If the B-document drawings closely match your tool, redesign or drop the SKU instead of waiting for a DE complaint.
Pricing and value
Espacenet, the Register, and the Publication Server are free. Filing is not. Following Administrative Council decision CA/D 9/25, selected official fees apply from 1 April 2026 (checked 2026-09-06): online European filing fee €135 (€285 other methods); European search €1,595; designation €720; examination about €2,010 / €2,240 depending on a supplementary European search; grant €1,135 (not more than 35 pages). Claims 16–50 cost €290 each; claim 51 onwards €720 each. Pages beyond 35 add €17 each. Renewal starts from year 3 (€725 in year 3). Opposition is €880. Unitary Patent renewal is a separate table, generally cheaper than validating in many states one by one.
Those are official fees, not European attorney time. For resellers, free Espacenet is the product. Pay to file only if you want a European patent. Confirm live figures on epo.org/en/applying/fees and the interactive schedule. Applicants outside EPC states should expect representative fees to exceed the official fees.
Community feedback
Seller forums talk about the EPO less than USPTO trademarks: EU patent complaints are spikier than weekly Brand Registry chores. When they appear, the thread is usually “DE listing hit with a patent claim, go match it on Espacenet.” Among attorneys, Espacenet is the default free tool. Complaints cluster around planned MyEPO / Online Filing 2.0 outages (the EPO publishes incident notices) and the mandatory representative rule for non-EPC applicants. Support: support@epo.org and freephone 00 800 80 20 20 20 from selected countries. Contact forms and email do not legally file papers. Staff will not give an infringement opinion.
Competitive positioning
Espacenet’s edge is free worldwide coverage plus European legal status. USPTO PPUBS is better for U.S. drawings and U.S. file histories. J-PlatPat is Japan, with Japanese machine translation. Google Patents is easier to browse; European legal events still belong on the Register. EUIPO handles trade marks and designs, not invention patents. Commercial patent databases are built for R&D and law firms.
Alternatives
- United States Patent and Trademark Office — Patent Public Search for U.S. listings and U.S. design/utility text.
- Japan Patent Office — J-PlatPat for Japanese patents and trademarks.
- European Union Intellectual Property Office — EU brands and Brand Registry; not patents.
Limitations
The free services block bulk crawling. Espacenet is not a freedom-to-operate opinion. Non-EPC applicants need a European professional representative. Official fees plus attorney costs make a European invention patent heavy for a small reseller. UK rights do not fall out of an EPO search automatically. The Unitary Patent does not cover every EU member state. Legal status can lag; the Register and national registers win.
Verdict
If you sell structured or electronic goods on Amazon EU, put Espacenet and the Register in the listing checklist. Open MyEPO and pay official fees only when you want a European patent. EU trade marks are EUIPO’s job.
Next step: open Espacenet, search the SKU by structure and CPC, then confirm legal status on the European Patent Register. If you will file, confirm whether you need a European professional representative and read current fees.
Data notes
Rechecked 2026-09-06 against the EPO search hub, Espacenet (150 million+ documents, free, no robots), MyEPO / Online Filing 2.0 notes, and fees in force from 1 April 2026 (including €135 filing and €1,595 search). published (2024-03-15), monthlyVisits, domainRating, and authorityScore are catalog placeholders and unverified. The EPO has operated since 1977; the catalog published date is not the founding day. Attorney fees, grant timelines, and infringement conclusions are case-specific.