Further considerable costs will arise during the continuing procedures which may last a further 2-3 years. Continue in the U.K. alone. A choice must be made between formalising the existing Application, or filing a fresh Application claiming priority from the existing application. Further advantages of the second course are that it defers the first renewal fee, and effectively extends the patent life by one year. File in the U.K. and also in any other foreign countries required.
Costs depend on countries chosen and languages.
The single European application is processed towards grant of a patent, which must then be validated in each country and translated. The U.K. can be covered by an E.P.C. application, and there is a fee payable for each country included out of the total 18 countries available. After the search result has been received, there is an option to discontinue without further expense. But a further examination fee must be paid to carry on. For lists of countries available under E.P.C. or P.C.T. applications follow the links.