2016-12-28:
In June 2016 a new law was adopted in Belgium, abolishing the requirement for filing a translation of the text of a European patent granted in English, into one of the official Belgian languages. The new law will come into force on 1 January 2017, which means that a European patent, granted on or after 1 January 2017, automatically will have the same effect in Belgium as a national Belgian patent. This will bring the number of European countries where a European patent enters directly into force to a total of 10. If you have any questions, please contact any Brann attorney.