Georgia to start EP patent validation on 15 January 2024

On 31 October 2019, the European Patent Organisation (EPO) signed a validation agreement with Georgia (GE). This agreement will now enter into force on 15 January 2024, allowing Georgia to be included in a European patent (EP) application as a Validation State.

For direct EP applications, the filing date must be on or after 15 January 2024, to include Georgia. For Euro-PCT applications, the international filing date (PCT application) must also be on or after this date.

To add Georgia to the EP application as a Validation State, a validation fee must be paid at the same time as the designation fees. The amount of the validation fee has not yet been announced by the EPO. Once the EP patent is granted, a translation of the patent into Georgian must be filed to validate the patent in Georgia.

Since 2010, the EPO has signed validation agreements with five non-member states, including Morocco (MA), the Republic of Moldova (MD), Tunisia (TN), Cambodia (KH), and now Georgia (GE). With these so-called Validation States, the European patent has expanded beyond Europe.