August 2010
On 1 October 2010 Serbia will become the 38th member state of the European Patent Organisation.
European patents with a filing date from 1 October 2010 will designate Serbia automatically.
Serbia joins 37 other member states which may be protected by a European patent. From 1 October, the full list of member states will be:
Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Currently you must request an “extension” of protection to cover Serbia. This system will continue to apply to all European patents with a filing date before 1 October 2010. A European patent can also extend to Montenegro, and to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For more information on gaining patent protection in Serbia, please ask your usual contact at Forresters.