Cheaper European patents

The London Agreement aims to significantly reduce the costs of translation for granted European patents as applicants are no longer required to translate the text of the European patent into the national language of individual member states.

After several years of negotiations, the London Agreement finally comes into force. The London Agreement contains rules and regulations governing the validation of European patents in individual member states. Today most states require a translation of the text of the European patent into their national language prior to validation resulting in considerable translation costs.  

Under the London Agreement, individual states are only entitled to require a translation of the claims into their national language while other parts of the patent shall be available in one of the official languages of the EPO, namely English, German, or French. States which have ratified the agreement can decide which of the three languages should be applied. To come into force the agreement required ratification by France. France has been reluctant to adopt the agreement due to a provision stating that member states having one of the three official languages of the EPO as their national language must accept European patents in all three official languages. 

However, despite French linguistic policy, the London Agreement was adopted by the French national assembly in September 2007 and on 9 October 2007 the ratification bill was approved by the French Senate. 

Following ratification by France sufficient states will have ratified for the agreement to enter into force. This will happen three months following deposit of the official instrument of ratification by the French government. Once the London Agreement comes into force, it shall apply to all European patents issued after such date. 

To date the London Agreement has been ratified by Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco and Slovenia. The Agreement has been approved by Denmark and Sweden and more states are expected to follow once the Agreement comes into force.