We recapitulate here the date of entrance and the applicability in the time of the accession of new member states to the EPC.
| Contracting | Extension | Date of entry into force | | TR | | Novembre 1st, 2000 | | BG, CZ, EE, SK | | July 1st, 2002 | | SI | | December 1st, 2002 | | HU | | January 1st, 2003 | | RO | | March 1st, 2003 | | PL | | March 1st, 2004 | | | HR | April 1st, 2004 | | IS | | November 1st, 2004 | | | YU | November 1st, 2004 | | LT | | December 1st, 2004 | | | BA | December 1st, 2004 | LV | | July 1st, 2005 |
European Patent
Only European patent applications filed on or after the date of entrance into force may designate the new member states.
No retroactively designation is possible.
PCT
Only PCT applications filed on or after the date of entrance, which designate European Patent, will include the new EPC contracting states.
Slovenia (SI) can no longer be designated through a national patent but must be designated through a European Patent.
Extensions states
It has to be noted that Slovenia (SI) and Romania (RO) were extension states.
The extension system will continue to apply to all EP and PCT applications filed prior the date of entrance with regard to these states.
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