Signature of a Working Agreement between the European Patent Office and the Principality of Monaco Concerning Cooperation on Research

Jean Castellini, Minister of Finance and Economy  (on the left) and Benoît Battistelli, President of the European Patent Office (on the right). ©Government Communication Department / Charly Gallo

As a side-event of the European Patent Office's second 2016 Online Services User Day, held in Monaco from 24 to 25 November, the Principality, represented by the Minister of Finance and Economy, Jean Castellini, and the European Patent Office, represented by the President of the European Patent Office, Benoît Battistelli, signed a working agreement.  This agreement will enable users of the patents system, when filing an application for a national patent, to request the European Patent Office to prepare a research report on the relevant prior art and a written opinion on patentability, all of which is essential for understanding the legal value of the invention.

The signing of this agreement clearly demonstrates the wish of the Prince's Government to not only support businesses in their growth and innovation policies, by making available a new, effective legal tool, but also to continue the process of modernising its National Intellectual Property Office, initiated in 2010.

It was also an opportunity to highlight the close relations between the European Patent Office and the Principality of Monaco, which have grown ever stronger in recent years with the first official visit of the President of the European Patent Office in September 2013, followed by a visit by its Principal Director of European and International Cooperation, François-Régis Hannart, in November 2015, during which a bilateral cooperation plan was signed with the aim of developing the activities of the National Office.