London Agreement Enters into Force in Hungary

On January 1, 2011 the London Agreement, aiming to decrease translation costs for European patents granted under the European Patent Convention, entered into force in Hungary.

Under the agreement, European patents granted in English or submitted with an English translation do not have to be translated to Hungarian for validation before the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO).

For patents granted in French or German, the applicants can either provide an English or a Hungarian translation. Nevertheless, patent claims always have to be filed in Hungarian.

The new rules will also apply to European patents granted before January 1, 2011 and amended in opposition, appeal or limitation proceedings on or after that date.

Along with the London Agreement entering into force, the Hungarian legislation concerning the validation of European patents has also been amended. As of January 1, 2011, the following provisions have been amended:

• On administrative fees in industrial property procedures
• On documents filed in connection with European and international patent applications and plant variety protection applications
• On the rules for electronic filing of documents in industrial property procedures

Under the new provisions, the publication of the European patent translation, which is required for its validation, will cost approximately EUR 80 (USD 109). This amount will increase by EUR 12 (USD 16) for each page exceeding the initial six pages of the text.

For more information, please contact Masa Lopicic at our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: Hungarian PTO