| London Agreement |
Article Index for London |
Website Links For London |
Information AboutLondon Agreement |
|
The London Agreement, or formally the '''Agreement dated 17 October 2000 on the application of Article 65 of the Convention on the Grant of European Patents''', is a Patent Law agreement concluded in London on October 17 , 2000 and aimed at reducing the cost of translation of European patents granted under the Convention On The Grant Of European Patents , commonly known as the European Patent Convention (EPC). This agreement , Iceland and Latvia have deposited their instrument of Accession (accession is also taken into account for the entry into force of the agreement). Denmark is expected to ratify soon. Currently, once a European patent is granted or more precisely within three months (or six months for Ireland ) from the date of grant, the patent must be translated in an official language of each country in which the patentee wants patent protection. If the translation of the European is not provided to the national Patent Office within the prescribed time limit, the patent "shall be deemed to be void Ab Initio in that State" (Art. 65 EPC). This current situation leads to high translation costs for patent holders, reduces the incentives to apply for a European patent and, many argues, the situation is a burden on the competitiveness of the European Economy , compared to the situation in the United States (see also EU's Lisbon Strategy ). LEGAL PROVISIONS The agreement provides that countries which have an official language in common with an official language of the European Patent Office , i.e. English , French and German , would not require anymore translation of European patents in one of their official languages. Other countries would have to choose one of the official languages of the EPO as a "prescribed language", in which European patents would have to be translated in order to enter into force in their country. They would however keep the right to require translation of the Claim s in one of their official languages. In addition, a country party to the Agreement would also keep the right to require that in case of a dispute relating to a patent translation should be provided by the patentee in one of the official languages of the country. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|