Validation agreement between EUIPO and Georgia

The validation agreement between the European Patent Organisation and Georgia entered into force on January 15th, 2024. As a result, inventors and businesses are now able to validate their European patent applications and patents granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) in Georgia on the basis of the country’s national law.

The entry into force of the validation agreement with Georgia broadens the attractiveness and accessibility of the European patent system. It will also further reduce processing times and costs for applicants, as well as the administrative burden for the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia, while guaranteeing the highest levels of legal certainty”.

The patent protection is now valid in 45 countries on the basis of a single European patent application.

Those European patent applications and patents validated in Georgia under the agreement will have the same effect and be subject to the same conditions as Georgia’s national patents. 

The validation of European patents is also an important element for helping to attract foreign investment in Georgia.

The agreement was originally signed on 31 October 2019 and is the fifth of its kind to enter into force following those concluded between the European Patent Organisation and Morocco, the Republic of Moldova, Tunisia and Cambodia. With the current agreement’s entry into force and the extension agreement with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the number of countries for which patent protection can be obtained on the basis of a single European patent application rises to 45.

More on validation agreements

Under validation agreements, inventors and businesses are provided with a simple, timely and cost-efficient way of achieving high-level protection for an invention in the validation state, based on one single European patent application and without having to file a corresponding national patent application. 

In addition to making these countries’ markets more attractive to holders of European patents, validation agreements can help to attract foreign investment and facilitate technology transfer and also contribute to the overall sustainability of the patent system.

_{Source: EUIPO}