The Agreement on the application of Article 65 EPC – the London Agreement – is an optional agreement aiming at reducing the costs relating to the translation of European patents. It is the fruit of the longstanding efforts to provide for a cost attractive post-grant translation regime, which began in the 1990s in the framework of the European Patent Organisation and gained momentum at the Intergovernmental Conference held in Paris on 24 and 25 June 1999 (see OJ EPO 1999, 545). It was concluded at the Intergovernmental Conference held in the London on 17 October 2000 (see OJ EPO 2001, 549).
The EPC contracting states which have ratified or acceded to the Agreement undertake to waive, entirely or largely, the requirement for translations of European patents. Under Article 1(1), (2) and (3) of the London Agreement,
The London Agreement entered into force on 1 May 2008, following the deposit of the instruments of ratification and accession by 13 EPC contracting states – including the three where the most European patents took effect in 1999, that is, France, Germany and the United Kingdom (see Article 6(1) of the Agreement). Under Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Agreement any accession by a state after 1 May 2008 shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month after the deposit of the instrument of accession.
The London Agreement applies to European patents in respect of which the mention of grant is published in the European Patent Bulletin after the Agreement enters into force for the state concerned (see its Article 9). The new translation regime thus applies in those states which have ratified or acceded to the London Agreement to all European patents in respect of which the mention of grant was published in the European Patent Bulletin on or after 1 May 2008. For Albania, Lithuania and North Macedonia (previously known as the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"), the London Agreement has no impact on the existing translation regime.
In Denmark, France (see Paris court of appeal judgment of 14 April 2010), Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland/Liechtenstein and the United Kingdom, the new rules also apply to European patents granted before 1 May 2008 and amended on or after that date (mention published in the European Patent Bulletin) in opposition, appeal or limitation proceedings. This is also the case for Hungary if a European patent was granted before 1 January 2011 and was amended on or after that date in opposition, appeal or limitation proceedings.
For Germany, the old translation requirements continue to apply to European patents granted before 1 May 2008 and amended on or after that date. For Finland, they also continue to apply to European patents granted before 1 November 2011, and for Norway to those granted before 1 January 2015.
For Croatia, there are no such transitional provisions.
Regarding the transitional provisions in Switzerland/Liechtenstein and the United Kingdom stipulating that European patents in respect of which the mention of grant was published before 1 May 2008 also fall under the London Agreement regime, see the information published by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property and the UK Intellectual Property Office.
Belgium’s accession to the London Agreement entered into force on 1 September 2019.
Please note that Belgium has already previously amended its law in order to bring it in line with the London Agreement (see OJ EPO 2016, A99). Therefore, there are no changes to the current translation requirements in Belgium.
As regards the transitional provisions, Belgian law provides that for European patents granted for Belgium in English in respect of which the mention of grant, maintenance in amended form or limitation is published in the European Patent Bulletin before 1 January 2017, a translation of the specification into Dutch, French or German must still be supplied in accordance with Article 65(1) EPC.
The London Agreement distinguishes between (1) states having an official language in common with one of the official languages of the EPO (English, French and German) and (2) states having no official language in common with one of the official languages of the EPO.
1. States having an official language in common with one of the official languages of the EPO dispense with translation requirements under Article 65(1) EPC (Article 1(1) of the London Agreement).
This provision currently applies to the following states:
2. States which do not have an official language in common with one of the official languages of the EPO may require that a translation of the claims into one of their official languages be supplied (Article 1(3) of the London Agreement).
The following states require that the claims be supplied in their official language:
The above states dispense with further translation requirements if the European patent has been granted in an official language of the EPO prescribed by them, or translated into that language and supplied under the conditions provided for in Article 65(1) EPC (Article 1(2) of the London Agreement).
The following states have prescribed English:
In Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, the European patent may also be supplied in the national language.
The following states have not prescribed any language under Article 1(2) of the London Agreement:
Please consult the EPO's publication "National law relating to the EPC" for further details regarding validation requirements in the EPC contracting states.
A comprehensive list of legal bases relating to validation requirements in the EPC contracting states is available in the EPO's publication "National law relating to the EPC".
