As of 1 June 2026, the Republic of Moldova officially became the 40th member state of the European Patent Organisation.
Although it has been possible to obtain patent protection in Moldova with a European Patent application since 2015, when a validation agreement between the European Patent Organisation and the Republic of Moldova came into force, validating a European Patent application in Moldova previously required the payment of an additional validation fee.
As a result of the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Patent Convention, for applications with a filing date on or after 1 June 2026, an additional validation fee is no longer required, and Moldova will automatically be designated as part of the fee for designating the EPO member states.
According to the Moldovan State Agency on Intellectual Property’s database, as of 1 June 2026, there were around 400 European Patents or applications with UK proprietors which had designated Moldova. It will be interesting to see if the Republic of Moldova’s accession to the EPC has a noticeable effect on the number of European Patents being validated there.
If you are interested in joining obtaining patent protection in the Republic of Moldova or any of the other EPC Contracting States, please get in touch with your usual Boult contact, or email boult@boult.com.
