Validation of European patents in Georgia (GE)

The validation system provides European patent applicants with a simple and cost-effective way of obtaining patent protection in a validation state that is not a contracting state of the European Patent Convention (EPC) but that has entered into a validation agreement with the European Patent Organization (EPO).

On 31 October 2019, the EPO and the Government of Georgia signed such validation agreement, which will now enter into force as from January 15, 2024. This means that from this date onwards, it will be possible to validate European patents in Georgia (GE). This way, Georgia joins Morocco (MA), the Republic of Moldova (MD), Tunisia (TN), and Cambodia (KH), as the fifth validation state for European patent applications.

Practically this means that from 15 January 2024 onwards an applicant filing a European patent (EP) application, or a PCT application designating Europe (Euro-PCT), will be able to validate the granted European patent in Georgia even though Georgia is not a contracting state to the European tent Convention (EPC).

Validation for Georgia occurs at the request of an applicant, and involves the payment of a prescribed fee, i.e. a validation fee, which can be paid to the EPO within the same period as paying designation and extension fees.

European applications and patents validated in Georgia, will in principle have the same effects as national applications and patents in that state, and will confer essentially the same protection as patents granted by the EPO for EPC contracting states.

The entry into force of the validation agreement with Georgia implies that it will be possible for applications filed on or after 15 January 2024 to cover up to 44 countries with a single European patent application.For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@dcp-ip.com .