Four central and eastern European states join the European Patent Organisation

MUNICH 28. 5. 2002 (ots) - Having ratified the European PatentConvention (EPC), Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia andSlovakia will become members of the European Patent Organisation(EPO) on 1 July 2002. This means that the European Patent Officewill in future be able to grant patents for a total of 24states. In addition to the four new countries, these are: allthe EU states, plus Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Switzerlandand Turkey.

This latest development continues the eastward enlargement ofthe EPO launched in 1999 and is set to be followed by theaccession of a further six countries - Latvia, Lithuania,Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Hungary - later this year or nextyear.

The European patent will then cover the entire Europeaneconomic area stretching from the Atlantic to the Black Sea.Patent protection in the new member states will then be muchsimpler and cheaper, which in turn will encourage technologytransfer and investment. Membership of the EPO will pave the wayfor the planned integration of these countries into the EuropeanUnion. ots Original Text: European Patent Organisation Internet:http://www.presseportal.de For further information, pleasecontact:

Rainer Osterwalder Press Officer European Patent Office,Munich Phone: ???5012, Fax: -2850 e-mail: rosterwalder@epo.org

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