Iceland and Lithuania accedes to the European Patent Convention

On 31 August 2004, the Government of the Republic of Iceland (IS) and on 3 September 2004, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (LT) deposited its instrument of accession to the European Patent Convention (EPC) and to the Act revising the EPC of 29 November 2000.

The EPC will accordingly enter into force for Iceland on 1 November 2004 and for Lithuania on 1 December 2004.

The European Patent Organisation will thus comprise the following 30 member states as from 1 December 2004:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Further information concerning the effects of this accession and the provisions which Lithuania has enacted for the implementation of the EPC will be published on the homepage of the European Patent Office respectively in the Official Journal of the European Patent Office.