Article 25
Citation: OJ EPO 2026, A25
Online publication date: 30.4.2026
EUROPEAN PATENT ORGANISATION
The Republic of Moldova accedes to the European Patent Convention
1. Accession to the EPC
On 25 March 2026, the Government of the Republic of Moldova (MD) deposited its instrument of accession to the European Patent Convention (EPC).
The EPC will accordingly enter into force for the Republic of Moldova on 1 June 2026.
The European Patent Organisation will thus comprise the following 40 member states as from 1 June 2026:
Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, North Macedonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Republic of Moldova, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, United Kingdom.
2. Effect of MD's accession to the EPC on European patent application
European patent applications filed on or after 1 June 2026 will include the designation of the new contracting state.1 It will not be possible to designate the Republic of Moldova retroactively in applications filed before that date.
However, to allow the new contracting state to be designated, the European Patent Office (EPO) will accord European patent applications filed in May 2026 the filing date of 1 June 2026, provided this is expressly requested by the applicant when filing the application.
3. Effect of MD's accession to the EPC on international applications under the PCT
Nationals of the Republic of Moldova and persons having their principal place of business or residence in the Republic of Moldova will also be entitled, as from 1 June 2026 to file international applications with the European Patent Office as receiving Office.
Any PCT request (PCT/RO/101) filed on or after 1 June 2026 will automatically designate the new EPC contracting state for the purpose of obtaining a European patent (Rule 4.9(a)(iii) PCT).
No European patents for the Republic of Moldova can be granted on the basis of international applications with a filing date prior to 1 June 2026. Consequently, Euro-PCT applications with an international filing date prior to 1 June 2026 that enter into the European phase do not include the designation of the Republic of Moldova as an EPC contracting state.
4. Effect of accession to the EPC on the MD-EPO validation agreement
The validation agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Patent Organisation will terminate with the entry into force of the EPC in the Republic of Moldova on 1 June 2026. For European or international applications with a date of filing on or after 1 June 2026, it will therefore no longer be possible to validate European patent applications and patents in the Republic of Moldova.2 The validation system will, however, continue to apply to all European and international applications with a date of filing prior to 1 June 2026 and to divisional applications derived from earlier applications having a date of filing prior to 1 June 2026 (Article 76(1) EPC), as well as to all European patents granted in respect of such applications.
1 See Article 79(1) EPC. To obtain a reduction in the examination fee under Rule 7a (1) EPC and Article 14(1) RFees, the request for examination may be submitted in Romanian at any time before the examination fee is paid (see decision of the Legal Board of Appeal J 21/98, published in OJ EPO 2000, 406). The request for examination may be worded as follows in Romanian: "Se solicită examinarea cererii în temeiul articolului 94 din Convenția privind brevetul european".
2 European patent applications filed on or after 1 June 2026 will no longer be deemed to be a request to validate the European patent application or the European patent granted in respect thereof in the Republic of Moldova. As of 1 June 2026, an updated Form 1001 will be available to users in Online Filing 2.0 or can be downloaded in PDF from epo.org, The marking of a cross against the Republic of Moldova in Section 33.2 of earlier PDF versions of EPO Form 1001 for applications filed on after 1 June 2026 will have no legal effect.