{"id":1139,"date":"2026-06-18T06:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.franke-ip.com\/en\/?p=1139"},"modified":"2026-06-18T20:20:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T20:20:53","slug":"moldova-joins-the-epc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.franke-ip.com\/en\/moldova-joins-the-epc\/","title":{"rendered":"Moldova Joins the EPC"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On June 1, 2026, the Republic of Moldova acceded to the European Patent Convention (EPC) as its 40th contracting state. A single European patent application can now reach 40 states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What changes for applicants<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For European patent applications with a filing date on or after June 1, 2026, Moldova \u2013 like the other 39 member states \u2013 is automatically designated, and no separate validation fee is due. A single application can therefore secure protection in 40 states without paying any extension or validation fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applications with an earlier filing date remain subject to the previous regime, under which protection in Moldova is available only through validation. Specifically, Moldova remains available as a validation state for European applications with an effective filing date between November 1, 2015 and May 31, 2026. For pending matters, it is therefore worth checking which route \u2013 validation or automatic designation \u2013 applies in the individual case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On June 1, 2026, the Republic of Moldova acceded to the European Patent Convention (EPC) as its 40th contracting state. A single European patent application can now reach 40 states. What changes for applicants For European patent applications with a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,49,4],"tags":[148],"class_list":["post-1139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-european-law","category-international-law","category-patent-law","tag-epc-countries"],"yoast_head":"\nMoldova Joins the EPC - Franke IP Information<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.franke-ip.com\/en\/moldova-joins-the-epc\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. Dirk Franke\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.franke-ip.com\\\/en\\\/moldova-joins-the-epc\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.franke-ip.com\\\/en\\\/moldova-joins-the-epc\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dr. Dirk Franke\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.franke-ip.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a46c65d4fc47d77b2bb1f21b6e21fa4e\"},\"headline\":\"Moldova Joins the EPC\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T06:39:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-18T20:20:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.franke-ip.com\\\/en\\\/moldova-joins-the-epc\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":140,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.franke-ip.com\\\/en\\\/moldova-joins-the-epc\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.franke-ip.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/grafik-3.png\",\"keywords\":[\"EPC countries\"],\"articleSection\":[\"European Law\",\"International Law\",\"Patent Law\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.franke-ip.com\\\/en\\\/moldova-joins-the-epc\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.franke-ip.com\\\/en\\\/moldova-joins-the-epc\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.franke-ip.com\\\/en\\\/moldova-joins-the-epc\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moldova Joins the EPC - 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