Costa Rica has become the seventh validation state for the European patents. The validation agreement between the European Patent Organization and Costa Rica was signed on 13 December 2024. Thus Costa Rica joins Morocco, Tunisia, Moldova, Cambodia, Georgia, and Laos as so-called “validation country”.
It is not yet known when the agreement with Costa Rica will enter into force and what will be the validation formalities; such agreements typically enter into force between 2 and 4 years after their signing.
The European Patent Office (EPO) has a system allowing European patents to be validated in a non-member state, even outside the European continent, through an international agreement. This validation system ensures that applicants can obtain patent protection in the validation country by effectively using the same procedure before the EPO as member states of the European Patent Convention. According to the validation agreement, the European patents validated in Costa Rica will have the same effect and be subject to the same conditions as national patents.
This validation agreement will provide opportunity to the European patent applicants to select Costa Rica for obtaining patent protection through the European patent grant procedure, which reduces costs, time and administrative work. This increases attractivity of the European patent system which, with Costa Rica, will provides for obtaining a patent protection on the basis of a single European patent application in 47 countries.
At Katzarov SA, we are proud to have been part of this journey from its inception, offering expert intellectual property services that help innovators (individuals, Universities, SME’s, Multinational compagnies) protect their inventions at the European Patent Office. Whether you’re developing new technologies or expanding your operations, we are here to assist you through the whole process (including extensions of pharmaceutical patents), ensuring your intellectual property rights are secure.
