Montenegro accomplished the final step towards acceding to the European Patent Convention on July 15, 2022, and will thus become the 39th member state of the European Patent Organisation from October 1st, 2022.
1. Until now, Montenegro had the status of Extension State and it was thus possible to extend to Montenegro the protection conferred by the European patent applications or patents by paying the corresponding extension fee within six months of the date on which the European Patent Bulletin mentions the publication of the European search report, or, where applicable, within the period for performing the acts required for entry of an international application into the European phase.
The extension system remains applicable to European and international patent applications filed before termination of the relevant Extension Agreement and to European patents granted on the basis of such applications.
2. It will be possible to seek protection in Montenegro as a designation state through payment of the designation fee for all European and international patent applications filed from October 1st, 2022.
3. The current list of member states of the EPO with the corresponding accession dates can be found at: https://www.epo.org/about-us/foundation/member-states.html.
This IP Alert is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.