The EPO has announced that from 1 March 2015 it will be possible to validate European patents in Morocco, bringing the potential country coverage of a European patent to 41 countries.Any European or international patent application filed on or after 1 March 2015 is deemed to include a request for validation in Morocco. However, it will be necessary to pay a “validation fee” of €240 within the same deadline as for paying the designation fee and the fees for the Extension States.European patents validated in Morocco will confer the same protection as Moroccan national patents and will be subject to Moroccan patent law.To validate a European patent in Morocco, it will be necessary to file a French or Arabic translation at the Moroccan Patent & Trademark Office (PTO), within 3 months of the date of grant of the European patent. The Moroccan PTO has not yet fixed the official fees or indicated if any supporting documents (e.g. Power of Attorney) will be required.Morocco is not a member of the European Patent Organisation; rather, this development is the result of an agreement signed on 17 December 2010 by the President of the EPO and Morocco’s Minister for Industry.Tunisia and Moldova have also signed validation agreements with the EPO, but these agreements are yet to take effect.