March 14, 2018

Belgian IPO delegates PCT duties to the EPO

Starting from the 1st of April, 2018, applicants will not be able to allocate PCT applications to the Belgian Office for Intellectual Property (OPRI). Such duties will hereafter be the responsibility of the EPO (European Patent Office).

Nevertheless, in case of PCT application which relates to Belgian national security, it must be submitted to the OPRI. The applicant who resides in, has citizenship or business in Belgium remains responsible for checking whether his application is in any way related to Belgian defense or homeland security so that he can assign this application to the appropriate office. If the application is sent to the OPRI, the EPO will still serve as the receiving office.

Please feel free to contact us for more information regarding filing of an international application. Besides, actual fees for national phase entry in over 150 countries can be obtained via our online quotation system.

 

 

Author: Robert Hackney
Share: