BiH invited to join the European Patent Organization

Munich, October 11, 2024 – Administrative Council of the European Patent Organization (EPO) has sent an invitation to Bosnia and Herzegovina to accede to the European Patent Convention (EPC), respectively to the full membership of the EPO, one of five largest patent organizations in the world.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a former associate member, has achieved good and fruitful cooperation with the EPO, modernized its patent system and harmonized legal framework with common European and international standards for patent protection, and it was assessed that Bosnia and Herzegovina meets all the conditions for membership in the European Patent Organization, which is a prerequisite for BiH's accession to the European Union.    

Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Josip Merdžo, in his address to the members of EPO's Administrative Council, expressed appreciation for the invitation to join the EPC and membership in the European Patent Organization. "It is a privilege to be in such an important organization and to continue to improve and modernize patent protection system in today's challenging environment, all for the benefit of patent protection users and the economies of our countries, as well as society as a whole", said director Merdžo on that occasion.

European Patent Organization was established by the European Patent Convention, which was signed by 16 European countries in Munich on October 5, 1973. Bosnia and Herzegovina will become its 40th member, making it even easier for legal and natural persons from BiH to apply for and conduct European patent grant procedures.