Wilkepedia-intent to grant patent
Effective date of grant is when it is published in the european patent bulletin, if i am reading this right.
Sam
Communication under Rule 71(3) EPC and grant, or refusal[edit]
If the Examining Division reaches the conviction that the European patent application satisfies all the requirements of the EPC so that a European patent may be granted,[71] it issues a communication under Rule 71(3) EPC.[72] By issuing such a communication, the Examining Division informs the applicant of the intention to grant a patent based on the prosecuted application.[73] The claims must then be translated in the other two official languages of the European Patent Office, and fees for grant and publishing must be paid.[73] If the applicant pays the fees for grant and publishing and files the translation of the claims in due time, he is deemed to have been approved the text intended for grant.[73] If not, the European patent application is deemed to be withdrawn.[73] The time limit for paying the fees for grant and publishing, and for filing the translation of the claims is four months.[73] This time limit is non-extendable.[72][74]
The decision of the Examining Division to grant a European patent takes effect on the date on which the mention of the grant is published in the European Patent Bulletin.[75] The Examining Division is then bound by its final decision on an application, which can be set aside only following an admissible, allowable appeal.[76] The decision to grant ends the examination procedure. The text of the published patent can nevertheless always be brought into line with the text approved by the applicant if an error occurred when preparing the publication.[77][7
