Norway is Included in EPO Regional Phase Filings
WHAT:
For PCT applicants: Costs for Norwegian coverage can be reduced and delayed by years.
Norway is included under the European regional umbrella for PCT applications filed from January 1, 2008. This means that there wont be a need to enter the national phase into Norway directly to get coverage there.
WHEN: The critical date is the PCT international filing date. However, in practical terms, Norway's inclusion in the European Patent Convention will start impacting PCT applicants with a 31 month regional phase entry deadline from 1 August 2009. Those without a priority claim will have the latest 31 month deadlines under the previous arrangement, and will be least affected.
IMPLICATIONS: inovia, the largest processor of foreign patent filings worldwide, has IP experts who can discuss the impact of Norway's inclusion in EPO filings:
Justin Simpson, Founder and Executive Director at inovia, notes: "This is welcome news for PCT applicants. When the Norway Patent Office only accepted direct filing of patent applications, we found that our clients would often prefer to forgo patent protection there than pay the relatively high cost of national stage entry. In fact, due to the relatively high cost of living in Norway, translation and filing costs were some of the highest in the world. Now patent applicants entering the regional stage in Europe can avoid having to pay for a parallel Norwegian national phase application.
Simpson adds that it is important to note that once the European patent is granted, patent owners will still be required to validate <http://www.inoviaip.com/en/resources/ep-validation-process> that patent in Norway and pay government fees and translation costs at that point. The good news is that the government fee at validation will be lower than the current fee for direct national phase entry.
Jeff Sweetman, Head of Professional Services at inovia, adds: "Rather than having to incur the cost of filing in Norway at a time when other expensive national and regional phase applications are being filed, patent owners can now use the EPO prosecution period which can take several years to determine whether market opportunities in Norway justify the cost of validation once their patent is granted by the EPO.
Sweetman believes this initiative is particularly beneficial to patent owners in the petrochemical, mining, engineering, pharmaceutical and high-tech industries, who are attracted to filing in Norway because of its plentiful natural resources, leading first-world economy and sophisticated and educated consumer base.
To speak with Justin or Jeff, please contact them at justin.simpson@inoviaip.com or jeff.sweetman@inoviaip.com.
