In the period of 10-11September 2013, within the premises of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) was held the Workshop on Validation of European Patents and the working visit of the European Patent Office (EPO) delegation, in the composition of the Administrator of the Department “Post Grant” James Rollinson, Lawyer of the International Legal Affairs Department, PCT Jean -François Lebesnerais and Project Leader of the International Cooperation Directorate Nina Formby.
The purpose of the Workshop was to familiarize AGEPI experts with the legal and technical aspects of the European Patent Validation System.
In the Workshop, members of the EPO Delegation addressed procedural aspects of entry into force of the Validation Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Patent Organization and the necessary measures to be taken to ensure the correct application of its provisions into practice.
Also, EPO experts in common with the members of the AGEPI working group identified the obligations of the State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova as a result of the signing of the Validation Agreement, and the aspects of the post-grant review system in the EPO.
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On 21 November 2012, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to launch negotiations on the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the European Patent Organization on Validation of European Patents and to assign full-fledged powers to Director General of the State Agency on Intellectual Property Lilia Bolocan.
EPO is a body specialized in promoting the EU patent policy, being called to ensure the standardization of the system of patent protection at European level and the simplification of procedures for granting protection in all Member States.
Thus, in order to strengthen the protection of inventions on its territory, Moldova has asked the European Patent Organization for the conclusion of an Agreement on Validation of European patents.
From the establishment of an European patent validation system in our country will benefit the entire community of users of the national patent system, contributing to the stimulation of innovations, technology transfer and creation of a favorable investment climate.
* The European Patent Organization is an intergovernmental organization that was set up on 7 October 1977 on the basis of the European Patent Convention (EPC) signed in Munich in 1973. It has two bodies: the European Patent Office and the Administrative Council, which supervises the Office’s activities.
Currently, 38 states are members of the EPO (27 EU Member States and 11 – non-member states (Switzerland, Norway, Turkey, etc.). Another 2 states - Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, which currently are not Member States of the EPO, have signed with this Organization bilateral agreements on recognition of the European patent effect, being at the pre-accession stage. Albania, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia have gone though such pre-accession stage.
Patent issued under the EPC is called European patent and in each Contracting State, for which it is issued, has the same effect and is subject to the same treatment as a national patent issued in that state. It should be mentioned that the issue of a European patent may be requested for one or more Contracting States. Thus, the EPC currently allows of obtaining protection by European patent in 40 European countries.
The protection of inventions for the EPO member states may be easier and with less costs obtained by a single procedure for the grant of patents. In addition, EPC establishes an equal volume of protection offered by the European patent for all EPC Contracting States or of the European patent validation agreements.
Detailed information with respect to EPO activity you can found at: http://www.epo.org/