London Agreement to enter into force on 1 May

Following our earlier article it has been announced that France deposited the instrument of ratification of the London Agreement with the German Ministry of Justice on 29 January. According to Article 6 of the Agreement, the legislation will come into effect on the first day of the fourth month after the deposition; that is 1 May 2008.

The Agreement will apply to all European patents granted after 1 May. Once implemented, participating countries agree to largely or entirely waive the requirements for translations of granted patents. As a result, the reduction in the cost of validating a European patent could be enormous.

Matthew Handley 30 Jan 2008

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