Background
Before 1 May 2008, once a European patent was granted or more precisely within three months (or six months for Ireland) from the date of grant, the patent had to be translated into an official language of each country in which the patentee wanted patent protection. If the translation of the European patent was not provided to the national patent office within the prescribed time limit, the patent was "deemed to be void ab initio in that State." This situation still applies in the Contracting States wherein the Agreement has not entered into force.
This situation led to high translation costs for patent holders, reduced the incentives to apply for a European patent and, many argued, the situation was a burden on the competitiveness of the European economy, compared to the situation in the United States (see also EU's Lisbon Strategy).
Read more about this topic: London Agreement (2000)
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