Republic of Moldova invited to accede to European Patent Convention

At its 173^rd meeting on 13 December 2022, the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation decided to extend an invitation to accede to the European Patent Convention (EPC) to the Republic of Moldova. Moldova is expected to become the 40^th contracting state to the EPC.

The Republic of Moldova has a long history of close co-operation with the European Patent Organisation. In 2013, the European Patent Organisation and Moldova signed a Validation Agreement that became effective on 1 November 2015. The extensive co-operation work between the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova (AGEPI) under the framework of the Validation Agreement paved the way for the invitation for the Republic of Moldova to accede to the EPC.

In recent years this covered areas such as training and upskilling - both within and outside AGEPI - complemented by data exchanges to deepen the pool of patent information and knowledge available to users of both offices. AGEPI also joined the federated register, allowing direct access to up-to-date status information on EP patents granted in the Republic of Moldova.

Before acceding to the EPC, the Republic of Moldova will need to enact national legislation to facilitate its implementation and application. The EPO will fully support Moldova during this process, while also taking a number of procedural and administrative steps prior to the accession, which will take place according to a timetable mutually agreed by both offices.

In the meantime, the EPO looks forward to welcoming the 40^th contracting state to the EPC in the near future.