London Agreement enters into force 1 May 2008
By 1 May 2008, the London Agreement enters into force 1 May 2008. This means that the costs of validation of European patents become significantly reduced as the patent translations requirements are reduced in many of the European countries.
At present, when a granted European patent is granted the whole patent specification text needs to be translated into an official language of a particular country to be valid in this country. To get patent protection in for e.g. Denmark, Germany and France, you have to file a full translation of your English language patent in Danish, German and French. By the London Agreement, this is changed and it will no longer be necessary to prepare a full translation for many of the European countries. In other words, this new language regime will effectively cut down post-grant translation costs for European patents.
Validation in Denmark
In order to validate a European patent in Denmark, only the claims must be translated into Danish. If the European patent is not in English, a translation of the description into English must also be filed. This means a substantial reduction of costs.
However, a full translation to Danish may be required if someone is sued for patent infringement in the Denmark.
We expect to receive information from the Danish Patent and Trademark Office soon about how the practical implementation of the new validation procedure in Denmark will be.
Validation in other countries
Like Denmark many other European countries have also implemented the London Agreement. Unfortunately not all countries have dispensed or reduced the translation requirements. The countries that have ratified the London Agreement are:
Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom
Of these countries, some have dispensed with translation all together. These countries are:
France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Switzerland and United Kingdom
On the European Patent Office’s website, some key points of the London Agreement are explained: http://www.epo.org/patents/law/legislative-initiatives/london-agreement/key-points.html
Høiberg would be happy to assist you in obtaining patent protection in Denmark. We can provide experienced expertise in translations of the claims of your European patent and take care of the filing at the Danish Patent and Trademark Office.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
(Published 10.03.2008)
