The EPO has announced that from 1 November 2015 it will be possible to validate European patents in Moldova, bringing the potential country coverage of a European patent to 42 countries.Any European or international patent application filed on or after 1 November 2015 is deemed to include a request for validation in Moldova. However, it will be necessary to pay a “validation fee” of €200 within the same deadline as for paying the designation fee, the fees for the Extension States and the fee for Morocco.European patents validated in Moldova will confer the same protection as Moldovan national patents and will be subject to Moldovan patent lawMoldova is not a member of European Patent Organisation; rather, this development is the result of an agreement signed on 16 October 2013 by the President of the EPO and the Director General of the State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova.Tunisia has also signed a validation agreement with the EPO, but this agreement is yet to take effect.If you would like to know more about this issue or have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us on +44 (0)207 830 0000 or [email protected].