Netherlands to Abolish Automatic Patent Registration in Major IP Reform
The Hague, Friday 30 January 2026
The Dutch government will end automatic patent grants to combat legal uncertainty. With patent-holding firms earning 28% more per employee, this reform aims to secure intellectual property value and investment.
A Shift to Substantive Examination
On Friday, 30 January 2026, the Council of Ministers approved a proposal by Minister Karremans of Economic Affairs to completely overhaul the National Patent Act [1]. The cornerstone of this reform is the abolition of the current registration-only model, which currently grants patents—including those to foreign entities—without substantive validation [1]. Under the new legislation, the Netherlands Patent Office (Octrooicentrum Nederland) will be mandated to rigorously test all applications against specific granting criteria before any patent is issued [1]. This move is designed to eliminate the legal uncertainty caused by the issuance of unexamined patents, a practice the cabinet argues has allowed invalid innovations to clutter the market and impede genuine technological progress [1].
Economic Rationale and Investment Security
The government’s decision is underpinned by data highlighting the critical role of intellectual property in economic performance; companies that protect their technical inventions with patents generate over 28% more revenue per employee than their counterparts [1]. Minister Karremans stated that the current lack of content testing places the Dutch business climate under pressure, as unverified patents offer little security regarding their actual value [1]. By ensuring that patents are only granted for proven novelties, the reform aims to prevent competitors from ‘reinventing the wheel’ and provides the certainty necessary for entrepreneurs to attract investment or enter into licensing agreements [1].
Implications for Deep Tech and Offshore Innovation
This transition to a verified patent system is particularly significant for capital-intensive sectors such as high-tech systems and materials (HTSM), robotics, and quantum computing hardware, where the validity of intellectual property is often a prerequisite for venture capital [GPT]. The new framework prevents the automatic granting of rights for existing technologies, ensuring that legal protection is reserved for genuine advancements in these technical fields [1]. Furthermore, the cabinet proposes extending the jurisdiction of the Patent Act to the North Sea and the waters surrounding the Dutch Caribbean islands [1]. This extension is strategically vital for the energy transition hardware sector, as it secures intellectual property rights for economic activities and infrastructure development at sea [1].
Regulatory Timeline and Geographic Scope
In addition to strengthening patent validity, the bill seeks to simplify or abolish eight specific patent-related rules, contributing to a broader government target of reducing the regulatory burden of 500 rules by the summer of 2026 [1]. The reformed Patent Act will apply across the entire Kingdom, including Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean Netherlands municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba [1]. Following today’s approval, the legislative proposal has been forwarded to the Council of State for advice, after which it will be debated in the House of Representatives and the Senate [1].