Ireland has no utility model. Instead, it offers two national patents side by side: a full-term patent with a maximum term of 20 years and a short-term patent with a maximum term of 10 years. The short-term patent is granted without search or substantive examination. Full-term applications filed after May 19, 2017 are examined substantively again, but with a twist: the applicant must actively supply “evidence of novelty”.
Interest in the Irish national route is growing. According to the IPOI Annual Report 2024, national patent filings rose by more than 31 % to 774 applications, mainly because of applicants from China. Of these, 642 were short-term and only 132 full-term applications. Over the same period, pending applications rose by 62 % to 1,260.
This article summarises the particularities of the Irish grant procedure, the official fees, the realistic duration and the alternatives via the European patent and the PCT.
Two Types of Patent: Full-Term and Short-Term
The choice between the two types decides the term, the claim set, the examination and the court in which the patent can later be enforced (IPOI: Types of Patents).
| Full-term patent | Short-term patent | |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum term | 20 years | 10 years |
| Number of claims | No limit | Max. 5 claims |
| Patentability | Novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability | Novelty, industrial applicability, “not clearly lacking an inventive step” |
| Search before grant | Evidence of novelty required | Not required |
| Substantive examination | Yes (applications filed after 19 May 2017) | No |
| Official fees | Full rate | 50 % of the full-term filing, grant and renewal fees |
| Infringement proceedings | High Court | Circuit Court or High Court |
The short-term patent comes close to a utility model, but with one important catch. Before suing an infringer, the proprietor must either request a search report from the Controller or, where a foreign search report exists, supply copies to the Controller and to the alleged infringer. The Controller publishes these reports. A third party with a legitimate business interest may also request a search report on a short-term patent.
Both types can be filed for the same invention. However, the short-term patent becomes void once the full-term patent is granted. A short-term patent can therefore bridge the period until a full-term patent is granted, but it does not add a second layer of protection.
The Full-Term Patent: Evidence of Novelty Within 21 Months
The full-term patent is not searched automatically. Within 21 months from the filing date or, if priority is claimed, from the priority date, the applicant must take one of two routes (IPOI: Search Report / Evidence of Novelty). If neither is chosen in time, the application is refused.
- Irish search report: The applicant requests a search report and written opinion from the IPOI. The official fee is EUR 200. The report is published unless the application is withdrawn within two months of its issue.
- Foreign search results: The applicant declares that evidence of novelty will be furnished from a corresponding application at the European Patent Office, the UK Intellectual Property Office or the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, or under the PCT. The evidence is a copy of the foreign search report and written opinion, or of the patent granted by one of these three offices. It must be filed within two months of the publication of the foreign report or of the grant; the official fee is EUR 86.
On either route, the applicant must then amend the application in the light of the search results or state that no amendment is necessary. The application is then examined substantively for novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. This examination was reintroduced for applications filed after May 19, 2017; before that date, Irish full-term patents were granted without substantive examination.
For applicants who also file a European application, the second route is attractive. The European search report can be reused in Ireland, which saves the Irish search fee and avoids two diverging search results for the same invention.
Formal Requirements, Language and Representation
The application is filed in English or Irish, so for most foreign applicants no translation is needed. A filing date only requires an indication that a patent is sought, information identifying the applicant and a description. Claims and abstract can follow within 12 months from the filing or priority date. Drawings filed later, however, shift the filing date (IPOI: Guide to the application form).
The main formal deadlines run from the earliest priority date:
- Certified copy of the priority document: within 16 months (IPOI: Claiming Priority).
- Statement of inventorship: within 16 months, if the applicant is not the sole inventor, for example a company. The statement explains how the applicant derived the right from the inventors, for instance through an employment contract or an assignment. If it is missing, the application is refused (IPOI: Statement of Inventorship).
- Publication: about 18 months after the filing or priority date.
- English translation of a non-English priority document: within 21 months. For a Chinese priority application, the Irish application text is usually the translation already.
Applicants without a residence or principal place of business in the European Economic Area must be represented by a patent agent (IPOI: Patents for Inventions). The agent needs an authorisation (Form No. 5) signed by the applicant. Patent attorneys qualified in another EU member state, such as German patent attorneys, may act directly before the IPOI under Section 106(3A) of the Patents Act 1992. Before acting for the first time, they notify the Controller and submit evidence of their establishment, qualification and nationality (Points of Single Contact Ireland). The address for service may be anywhere in the EEA.
Official Fees
The Irish official fees are low by European standards. Keeping a full-term patent in force for the full 20 years costs about EUR 5,000 in official fees in total, a short-term patent for 10 years about EUR 660 (IPOI: Patent Schedule of Fees).
| Official fee | Full-term patent (EUR) | Short-term patent (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Filing fee | 125 | 60 |
| Search report and written opinion by the IPOI | 200 | Only before enforcement: 200 |
| Evidence of novelty (foreign search results) | 86 | – |
| Grant fee | 64 | 30 |
| Renewal fee, 3rd year | 60 | 30 |
| Renewal fee, 5th year | 114 | 57 |
| Renewal fee, 10th year | 220 | 110 |
| Renewal fee, 20th year | 468 | – |
| Renewal fees in total | 4,628 (years 3 to 20) | 569 (years 3 to 10) |
Renewal fees are due from the third year onwards, already while the application is pending. The fees for the short-term patent are half of those for the full-term patent. The search fee of EUR 200 for a search report and written opinion has applied to applications filed since May 19, 2017 (S.I. No. 205/2017).
Duration of the Grant Procedure
A short-term patent is typically granted within 12 to 18 months; a full-term patent usually takes two to three years. The IPOI publishes service targets and its results in its Annual Report 2024:
| Procedure step | IPOI target | Achieved in 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Grant of a short-term patent | 80 % within 12 months of filing | 69 % |
| Grant of a short-term patent | 100 % within 18 months of filing | 88.5 % |
| Substantive examination of a full-term application | 75 % within 12 months of receipt in the examination section | 62 % |
| Substantive examination of a full-term application | 90 % within 18 months of receipt in the examination section | 67 % |
For the full-term patent, the clock for examination only starts once the evidence of novelty is on file, which can take up to 21 months from the priority date. An applicant who requests the Irish search report at filing therefore gets a patent considerably faster than one who waits for a European search report or a European grant. At the end of 2024, 386 applications were waiting for evidence of novelty. The average time from filing to grant may be put to at three years.
All four targets were missed in 2024. In the same year, the number of pending applications rose sharply, which the IPOI attributes to the rise in applications from China.
Alternatives: The European Patent and the PCT Conversion Route
European patent. A European patent granted in English takes effect in Ireland without a translation, because Ireland is a party to the London Agreement. Renewal fees are then paid in Ireland. A Unitary Patent, however, does not cover Ireland. Ireland signed the UPC Agreement more than ten years ago but has not ratified it; the required referendum, planned for June 2024, was postponed, and as of September 2025 no new date had been set.
PCT conversion. The national PCT route to Ireland is closed: a PCT application designating Ireland is treated as a European application. Since the Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019, however, Section 127A of the Patents Act 1992 allows the applicant to request that a PCT application designating Ireland be treated as an Irish national application. The request must be filed no later than 31 months from the filing or priority date, whichever is earlier (IPOI practice note of January 26, 2021). Three points deserve attention:
- The conversion leads only to a full-term patent; a short-term patent cannot be requested this way.
- The request cannot be filed through the IPOI’s online system; it must be submitted by post or another permitted channel.
- The Euro-PCT application may continue in parallel. If a European patent designating Ireland is later granted, the Controller may revoke the Irish patent to avoid double protection.
An Irish patent obtained this way, based on evidence of novelty, is usually granted within 12 to 18 months of entering the national phase.
Conclusion for IP Practice
- Two patents, two purposes. The short-term patent is fast and cheap but limited to five claims and must be backed by a search report before it can be enforced. The full-term patent is examined and lasts up to 20 years.
- Evidence of novelty is the critical deadline. Without a search request or a statement on foreign search results within 21 months from the priority date, the full-term application is refused. Reusing a European, British or German search report saves cost.
- No translation of the application. The application is filed in English; only a non-English priority document must be translated within 21 months.
- Watch the 16-month deadlines. The certified copy of the priority document and the statement of inventorship are both due 16 months from the priority date.
- EU patent attorneys can act directly. A national patent attorney can represent foreign applicants before the IPOI after notifying the Controller once.
- Low fees, longer waits. About EUR 5,000 in official fees covers a full 20-year term, but the backlog has grown with the surge in applications from China.
- PCT applicants have a second door. Under Section 127A, a PCT application designating Ireland can be converted into an Irish full-term application within 31 months.
Photo: © James Jordan, [CC BY-ND 2.0]
