The European Patent Organisation (EPO) has announced the accession of Croatia and Norway to the European Patent Convention (EPC). The two countries became members of the EPO on 1 January 2008.

The accession of Croatia and Norway means that there are now 34 member countries of the EPO, with patent protection obtainable in several or all of the member counties through one patent application.

"The European Patent Organisation's members now include all 27 members of the European Union, plus Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia also recognise European patents on their territory, making European patents valid in 38 countries and a market of around 570 million people."

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European Patent Organisation news - Croatia and Norway join the EPO

Labels: European Union, Patent News