17 March 2016
Arūnas Želvys, Director of the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania, and EPO President Benoît Battistelli sign the agreement
EPO President Benoît Battistelli and Arūnas Želvys, Director of the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania, have concluded an agreement on a reduction of the search fee for certain applicants from Lithuania.
The reduction applies to searches carried out by the EPO on national filings by small and medium-sized enterprises, universities and independent inventors.
Speaking after the signing ceremony, Mr Battistelli said: "Today's agreement will further facilitate patent protection in Lithuania. Small businesses and academia stand to benefit greatly from the reduced rates."
Mr Želvys added: "This supports our strategy to enhance patenting activities in Lithuania and provide a competitive edge for innovative companies, who in turn create economic growth and jobs."
The agreement followed a decision of the EPO's Administrative Council in December 2015, which provided the legal basis for increasing the refund to 75% of the search fee with member states eligible for support under the co-operation policy.
Similar agreements have been concluded with Cyprus and other member states which fulfil the applicable criteria have also shown interest in concluding such administrative agreements.
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