European Patents to Cover Moldova

The validation agreement between the European Patent Office (EPO) and the State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova (AGEPI), signed on October 16, 2013, will enter into force on November 1, 2015 enabling applicants who file for a grant of a European patent to request validation of the patent in Moldova.

Once the validation agreement with Moldova enters into force, the number of countries for which patent protection can be obtained simultaneously with a single European patent application will increase to 42. These include the 38 EPO member states, two extension states Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro, and Morocco, with which the EPO also has a validation agreement.

European patents validated in Moldova will have the same legal effect as Moldovan national patents.

The opportunity to validate in Moldova only applies to European patent applications filed on or after November 1, 2015. It will not be applied retroactively for granted patents or the applications filed before November 1, 2015.

More information about the filing process is available on the website of the EPO.

Prepared by: Masa Lopicic Popovic

For more information, please contact mail@petosevic.com.

Source: EPO