EUROPEAN PATENT ORGANISATION
Entry into force of the revised text of the European Patent Convention
On 13 December 2007, the European Patent Convention as amended by the Revision Act of 29 November 2000 entered into force under Article 8(1) of the Act, whereupon the text valid until that time ceased to apply (Article 8(2) of the Act).
By the date of entry into force, all the then 32 contracting states to the European Patent Convention had deposited with the government of the Federal Republic of Germany their instruments of ratification or accession to the Revision Act of 29 November 2000.
The revised text also applies in Norway and Croatia, which joined the European Patent Organisation on 1 January 2008.
The texts in force since 13 December 2007 are set out in the 13th hard-copy edition of the European Patent Convention. Comprehensive information about the new law, including the preparatory documents, can be found on the EPO website http://www.epo.org/patents/law/legal-texts/epc.html and in numerous EPO Official Journal special editions published in 2001, 2003 and 2007.