EUROPEAN PATENT ORGANISATION
Hungary accedes to the European Patent Convention
1. Accession to the EPC
On 28 October 2002, the Government of the Republic of Hungary (HU) deposited its instrument of accession to the European Patent Convention (EPC) and to the Act revising the EPC of 29 November 2000.
The EPC will accordingly enter into force for Hungary on 1 January 2003.
The European Patent Organisation will thus comprise the following 26 member states as from 1 January 2003:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Further information concerning the effects of the accession and the provisions which Hungary has enacted for the implementation of the EPC will be published in later issues of the Official Journal.
2. Important information
European patent applications filed on or after 1 January 2003 will include the designation of the new contracting state 1. It will not be possible to designate Hungary retroactively in applications filed before that date.
To allow the new contarcting state to be designated, however, the EPO will accord European patent applications filed in December 2002 the filing date of 1 January 2003 if the applicant expressly requests that filing date when filing the application.
3. PCT
Nationals of Hungary and persons having their principal place of business or residence in Hungary will also be entitled, as from 1 January 2003, to file international applications with the European Patent Office as receiving Office.
If the European patent designation box ("EP") is selected in a PCT request (PCT/RO/101) filed on or after 1 January 2003, that designation will automatically include the new EPC contracting state.
1 See Section 32.1 of the Request for Grant form (EPA/EPO/OEB Form 1001 07.02; OJ EPO 2002, 375). Hungary will be included in a new version of the form.
To obtain a reduction in the examination fee under Rule 6(3) EPC and Article 12(1) RFees, the request for examination may be worded as follows in Hungarian:
"Kérem az európai szabadalom megadását és a bejelentés 94. cikk szerinti vizsgálatát."
(see Section II, point 5, of the Notes on Form 1001). As Section 5 (left-hand column) already contains a preprinted written request for examination in the EPO's official languages, the recommended procedure is to enter the written request for examination in Hungarian in the right-hand column of Section 5. The request for examination in this language may however also be submitted later at any time before the examination fee is paid (see decision J 21/98 of the Legal Board of Appeal, published in OJ EPO 2000, 406).