"We cannot (...) live in isolation, but instead form part of a rich IP ecosystem, with many different actors...". Back in July this year, the President of the European Patent Office (EPO), António Campinos, stressed the importance of intensifying co-operation between patent offices. The overall aim is to increase the efficiency of the filing and examination process for patents worldwide, and better meet user expectations in terms of quality, predictability, cost-effectiveness and timeliness.
Such endeavor involves expanding the territorial coverage of European patents through the so-called validation agreements between the EPO and non-member states. In an effort to keep clients up to speed with the latest developments, Dennemeyer & Associates has updated its European patent validations web application.
To date, Morocco (applications filed on or after 01.03.2015) and Moldova (01.11.2015) are available in the web application, provided your pending application or granted European patent is eligible. Other jurisdictions will follow soon, such as Tunisia (01.12.2017) and Cambodia (01.03.2018). It remains unclear if and when a validation agreement will be formalized with the following potential candidate jurisdictions: Angola, Georgia, Laos, the African Organization for Intellectual Property (OAPI) and Jordan.
For a detailed analysis of the possible benefits of European patent applicants seeking to protect their innovation beyond the European market, click here or download the white paper here.
Other features include:
- The ability to select the fees in British pounds (GBP), in addition to other currencies (EUR, USD and JPY);
- Sorting of jurisdictions in alphabetical order;
- Uploading of documents prior to sending instructions (e.g. claims, translations, special requests).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.