Legal Definitions - Community patent

A community patent is an international patent issued by the European Patent Convention. It grants the inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, marketing, selling, offering for sale, or importing an invention for a specified period (20 years from the date of filing) in any nation in the European Union and other EPC signatories. It is similar to a regular patent, but it covers multiple countries.

Example: John invents a new type of solar panel and files for a community patent. He is granted the patent and can now prevent others from making, using, or selling his invention in any country that is part of the European Union or the EPC signatories for 20 years.

This example illustrates how a community patent works and how it can protect an inventor's invention in multiple countries.