London Agreement (2000)

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 translation costs of European patents granted under the European Patent Convention (EPC). ^[1] The London Agreement is an optional agreement between member states of the European Patent Organisation. ^[1] The London Agreement is expected to enter into force in the first half of 2008. ^[1]

Background

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 into an official language of each country in which the patentee wants patent protection. If the translation of the European patent 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". ^[2] This current situation leads to high translation costs for patent holders, reduces the incentives to apply for a European patent and, many argue, 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).

Content

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 or German, would no longer require translation of European patents into 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 claims 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, a translation should be provided by the patentee in one of the official languages of the country.

History

The Agreement resulted from a process started at the Paris Conference of 1999 and was adopted at the London Conference of 2000. ^[1] This agreement signed by 10 countries, namely Denmark, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, is not in force yet, as of November 2007. To enter into force, the deposit of instruments of ratification by at least eight countries, including at least France, Germany and the United Kingdom must take place. Up to now, Monaco, Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Netherlands and Liechtenstein have deposited their instrument of ratification to the London Agreement while Slovenia, Iceland and Latvia have deposited their instrument of accession (accession is also taken into account for the entry into force of the agreement). Denmark ^[3] and Sweden ^[3] are expected to ratify soon. Currently only the deposit of the instrument of ratification by France is still necessary for the Agreement to enter into force. ^[1] The deposit of instruments of ratification with the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany by France could occur early 2008. ^{[1] [4]} The French Constitutional Council decided that the London Agreement was not contrary to the French Constitution. ^[5] On May 17 2006, the French National Assembly recommended the rapid ratification of the London Agreement in its report presented to the French Prime Minister. The French Senate followed in the steps of the Assembly making the same recommendation in a report adopted on May 30 2006, and the initiative was then in the hands of the French government. ^[6] On April 18, 2007, at the European Patent Forum in Munich, Germany, Angela Merkel said that she and German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries would fight to see the London Agreement realised. ^[7] She called the London Agreement "an important step in the right direction". ^[7] In an interview to Le Monde on August 21 2007, French Prime Minister François Fillon announced that the London Agreement would soon be ratified by France. ^[8] The intended ratification by France of the London Agreement was approved on August 24, 2007 by the French Council of Ministers and the act of ratification was sent to parliament. ^{[9] [10]} On September 26, 2007, the National Assembly adopted said ratification act and the Senate did the same on October 9, 2007. ^{[11] [12] [13]}

References

External links

• London Agreement on the European Patent Office website
• London Agreement on the UK Intellectual Property Office web site
• The London Agreement. UK Patent Office Consultation. (pdf) drafted by the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA)