The most significant revision of Belgian patent law since the 1984 Patent Act was approved by the Belgian legislator on January 10, 2011.
The most significant revision of Belgian patent law since the 1984 Patent Act was approved by the Belgian legislator on January 10, 2011. After careful preparation of the required changes to the implementing regulations, and in synchronisation with efforts by the patent offices of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg to introduce a joint electronic patent platform, the revised Patent Act is expected to enter into force early in 2014.
The revision is meant to bring Belgian patent law into compliance with the Patent Law Treaty (PLT) and to align substantive patent law with the provisions of the European Patent Convention as revised in 2000 (EPC 2000).
The purpose of the PLT is to harmonise certain essential points of procedural patent law between the contracting states. When the PLT was concluded in 2000, Belgium was among the original signatories. Until now, Belgium has neither ratified the treaty nor brought its internal law in compliance with its provisions, but that will change with the present revision.
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Belgium, patent, Belgian Patent Act, European Patent Convention
