London Agreement (2000)
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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 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 2006. To enter into force, it needs to be ratified by at least eight countries, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Up to now, Monaco, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom [1] have ratified it 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 and Netherlands are expected to ratify soon.
Currently only the ratification of France is still necessary for the Agreement to enter into force. The French Constitutional Counsil has decided that the London Agreement is not contrary to the French constitution. 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 is now in the hands of the French government <ref> http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/indprop/docs/patent/hearing/preliminary_findings_en.pdf '</ref>.
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[edit] Current situation
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" (Article 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).
[edit] 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 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 translation should be provided by the patentee in one of the official languages of the country.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- Official text
- London Agreement summary on the European Patent Office web site
- Status of ratification and accession
- Article 65 EPC
- The London Agreement. UK Patent Office Consultation. (pdf) drafted by the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA)
- (French) London Agreement (Ratification de l'accord de Londres sur les brevets), Oral question no 0813S by Mr Richard Yung (Question orale sans débat n° 0813S de M. Richard Yung), published in the Official Journal of the French Senate of September 22, 2005 (page 2379) and answer by the Secretary of State for the Industry (Réponse du ministère : Industrie), published in the Official Journal of the French Senate of November 10, 2005 (page 6843) - relates to the current French position on the London Agreement.
