The protection of European patent: across Laos and Costa Rica

Recently, the EPO announced two European patent validation agreements with Costa Rica and Laos. Details of the agreement have not yet been fully disclosed and are not yet in force. Based on these agreements, European patents validated in these two countries will have the same effects as the respective national patents.

The current global coverage of the current European patent includes 39 European contracting countries pf the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the six countries which the EPO has extension or validation agreement (Bosnia, Herzegovina, Moldova, Georgia, Tunisia, Morocco, and Cambodia).

The entry of Costa Rica and Laos into the coverage of the European patent will add around 13 million more habitants to the market potentially covered by the European Patent, which currently includes around 700 million people.

Although Costa Rica is the first country in America to sign an agreement validating the European patent, given its historical ties with some European countries that are EPO member states, other territories in America and in other continents are also already covered by the European patent.

The overseas territories of the Netherlands (Saint Martin, Curaçao, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba in the Caribbean) and France (Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint Barthélemy in the Caribbean; Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean; Réunion and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean; French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna in the Pacific Ocean) are also covered by the European patent. Similarly, the overseas territories of the United Kingdom (Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Montserrat in the Caribbean; Falkland Islands and Gibraltar) and some member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations (Belize, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu) are also within the geographical coverage of the European patent. In addition to these, the European patent can also be validated in Hong Kong.

The European patent increasingly contributes to strengthening the patent system globally, based on a substantive examination process of high quality and reliability, encourages investment in research and development and promotes economic growth.

For more information about the European Patent System contact us at info@inventa.com