The UK Patent Office Prepares For London Agreement
This article was taken from the Venner Shipley Newsletter edition 19.
At present, in order to give a granted European patent effect in most contracting states, a translation of the whole patent specification into the official language of that state must be filed at the national patent office. European patents can now designate up to 30 contracting states and there are a total of 22 different official languages. The cost of giving a European patent effect in multiple contracting states can be extremely high, often running into tens of thousands of pounds.
The London Agreement, which was concluded in London on 17 October 2000, intends to reduce the cost of obtaining patent protection in Europe by reducing the significant translation costs upon grant. The contracting states party to the London Agreement undertake to waive, entirely or largely, the requirement for translations of European patents to be filed in their national language.
The UK recently ratified the London Agreement, becoming the sixth European country to do so and joining Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Slovenia and Monaco. For the agreement to enter into force, it must be ratified by at least eight states, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
In addition, the UK Patent Office has issued a Guidance Note relating to changes to the UK patent law regarding the filing of translations upon grant of a European patent in French or German. The new UK legislation is in readiness for the London Agreement and it will only take effect once the London Agreement as a whole comes into force.
Under the new legislation, it will no longer be necessary for the applicant to provide the UK Patent Office with an English translation of a patent granted by the European Patent Office in French or German. However, during court proceedings, or in proceedings before the Comptroller, an English translation may be required.
Despite these encouraging developments, for the foreseeable future applicants will still have to file translations if they wish to obtain patent protection in the UK. The future of the London Agreement will remain uncertain until it is ratified by France. However, the growing list of states ratifying the agreement will hopefully mean that the French government is put under increasing pressure to let the agreement proceed.