Mr. Soso Giorgadze Met with President of the European Patent Office (EPO)

Mr. Soso Giorgadze, Chairman of Sakpatenti, within the 64th Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), met with Mr. António Campinos, President of the European Patent Office (EPO). At the meeting the parties considered the issue of implementation of the Agreement between the Government of Georgia and the European Patent Organisation on Validation of European Patents (Validation Agreement).

The parties focused attention on a number of activities necessary for entry into force of the Validation Agreement, namely, the necessity of alignment of the EPO and Sakpatenti IP systems with the Validation mode, as well as amendments to be entered in the Instruction of Georgia on Procedures Related with Drafting and Filing Applications for Inventions and Utility Models and Granting a Patent.

The Validation Agreement, signed on October 31, 2019, was ratified by the Parliament of Georgia on May 17, 2023, and the amendments to the Patent Law of Georgia entered into force on June 2, 2023.

As a result of the amendments, foreign applicants will be able to obtain patent protection in Georgia according to the European standard in an easier way, which is a positive signal for investors. At present, there are only two ways for obtaining a patent for an invention in Georgia: through direct filing of an application with Sakpatenti and by means of filing an international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in the national phase in Georgia.  

Along with the Validation Agreement, Mr. Soso Giorgadze and Mr. Mr. António Campinos considered issues envisaged within the Work plan 2022-2024 on Bilateral Co-operation, which include training of Sakpatenti examiners and patent attorneys, legal consultations, opportunity of access to EPO search system and support in introducing of new services and development of the field of innovation.

At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to continue work on the above-mentioned issues and to ensure implementation of the planned activities.

The European Patent Office (EPO), a body of the European Patent Organisation, is the second largest public institution in Europe. EPO carries out examination of applications to obtain patents for inventions and grants European patents. Its activities are directed to facilitate development of innovations, competitiveness and economic growth in Europe. At present the European Patent Organisation has 39 member states, comprising all, 27 member states of the European Union.