The duration of patent protectiona) is 70 years after the death of the inventor.b) is unlimited as long as patent renewal fees are paid.c) is counted from the publication date of the patent.d) can de facto be extended beyond the normal term for pharmaceutical products by“supplementary protection certificates”.e) is not regulated by the European Patent Convention. Rather, determining the patentterm is left to the member states of the European Patent Convention.

The duration of patent protection varies depending on the type of patent and the laws of the country in which the patent is registered. Here are the answers to your options:

a) This is incorrect. The duration of patent protection is not 70 years after the death of the inventor. In most countries, patent protection lasts for 20 years from the date of filing the patent application.

b) This is also incorrect. Patent protection is not unlimited and cannot be extended indefinitely by paying renewal fees.

c) This is partially correct. The 20-year patent protection period is counted from the date the patent application is filed, not the publication date. However, the patent does not actually come into effect until it is granted, which is when it is published.

d) This is correct. In some cases, the term of a patent for a pharmaceutical product can be extended beyond the normal term by a "supplementary protection certificate". This is to compensate for the time taken to obtain marketing approval.

e) This is incorrect. The European Patent Convention does regulate the term of a patent. According to Article 63 of the European Patent Convention, the term of a European patent is 20 years from the date of filing. However, the actual enforcement of the patent, including any extensions, is left to the individual member states.