This will reduce the costs of translating a European patent in a number of Member States of the European Patent Convention, including the Netherlands. Since Hungary has an official language other than the EPO, it is still mandatory to translate claims into Hungarian. If document B1 is in English, only the Hungarian translation of the claims must be filed. However, if the patent was granted with a French or German description, an English or Hungarian translation of the description may also be filed with the required Hungarian claims. The Convention did not change other language requirements that were in force before the grant of a European patent, such as .B. the requirement that claims in a European patent application must be translated “into the two official languages of the European Patent Office which are not the language of the proceedings” after receipt of the communication referred to in Rule 71(3) EPC stating that the EPO intends to grant a European patent. The European patent is usually granted within 3-4 years of filing. The grant fee must be paid and the final version of the claims must be translated into the three official languages (EN, DE, FR) and filed during this period. – Service fees (including agent fees), which are the fees of professionals involved in validation- Official fees payable to national patent offices- Translation fees If an application is issued, it is necessary to file a translation of the claims into French and German (provided that the application is in English). That has not changed in the context of the London Agreement.
After grant, most Member States of the European Patent Convention (EPC) required the filing of a translation of the entire specification into the national language of the State in order for the patent to take effect in that State. The preparation of these necessary translations could represent up to about 40% of the total cost of obtaining a European patent. It is good to know that after the publication of the grant in the countries where you wish to have a valid patent, an annual maintenance fee must be paid. As a result, the validation itself is not enough to have valid protection, pensions must also be paid. It may be necessary to file a translation of the entire specification into the national language of a country if the patent is the subject of litigation in that country. The following States do not share an official language with the EPO and require that a translation of claims be filed in one of their official languages if the European patent has been granted in English or translated into English and filed under Article 65(1) EPC: Croatia**, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, the Netherlands and Sweden. With the exception of Croatia, the specification of the European patent may also be filed in those countries in the respective national language. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia only require a translation of claims into their respective official languages, regardless of the official language in which the EPO granted the patent. All EPC Contracting States have required, under Article 65(3) EPC, that the European patent be considered invalid from the outset in the event of non-compliance with the relevant national provisions. The circumstances in which such a loss of rights occurs shall be governed by the national law of the Contracting States concerned. In most Contracting States, the time limit for the submission of the translation is not extendable. Under the London Agreement, a number of Contracting States largely or totally waive the obligation to translate granted European patents into their national language.
As a result, the agreement will affect the cost of post-grant translations of European patents granted from 1 May 2008. The countries that are parties to the London Agreement by ratification or accession and will therefore be affected by it are Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland, Latvia and Croatia. Denmark and Sweden are expected to follow soon. In the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Switzerland, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden, the new provisions of the London Agreement apply in such situations, thus reducing the translation requirements for the amended specifications. So far, the following countries have accepted the agreement: The unitary patent (UP) is a European patent with unitary effect. Unitary effect may be registered in a European patent when it is granted and replaces the validation of the European patent in the different Member States concerned. Unitary patents will exist alongside existing national patents and European patents. Countries whose national language is also the official language of the EPO, such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland/Liechtenstein, waive translation requirements altogether.
However, in the context of the official procedure and before the grant of a European patent, it remains imperative to have the claims translated from the language of the proceedings into the other two official languages. (1) States in which the official language is common to one of the official languages of the EPO (English, French or German) no longer need a translation of the specification in order to validate the patent granted in that country. These States are: Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland and the United Kingdom Damages under the rules of civil liability can only be claimed for the period during which a Hungarian translation of the description has already been published. Therefore, those considering filing a patent infringement action or as a simple precaution are advised to file a Hungarian translation of the description, even if it means higher translation costs. Of course, it is also allowed to submit the Hungarian translation of the description later by paying an additional official fee. These countries choose one of these three languages (English, French or German) and only require a translation of the specification into the chosen language (provided that the patent has not been granted in that language). They may request a translation of the claims into their national language. Contracting States to the EPC which have ratified or acceded to the Convention undertake to derogate, in whole or to a large extent, from the obligation to translate European patents. In accordance with Article 1(1), (2) and (3) of the London Agreement, 3. Effect of the European patent as a national patent If, in the case of earlier national laws, the European patent application contains different sets of claims for different States (Rule 138 EPC), only a translation of all the claims applicable to the State concerned is filed.
