About Validation in Belgium

This page contains information about European Patent Validation in Belgium, including the local regulations, and filing requirements.

• London Agreement

  Belgium is a London Agreement country and shares an official language with the EPO.

  For this reason, a granted European Patent Application, is automatically and instantly considered to be a granted national patent in Belgium, and so EP Validation is not required.

  It is considered good practice to appoint a qualified local Agent as "Address For Service", who will receive and interpret any correspondence from the local National Patent Office, and communicate as necessary.

  At IP Centrum, we operate a network of qualified agents, and routinely appoint them as "Address For Service" on behalf our clients.

• Power of Attorney

  Required?

  YES

  Prior To Validation?

  NO

  Copy / Original?

  COPY ACCEPTABLE

  General PoA?

  ACCEPTED

  A Power of Attorney must be filed in favour of a locally appointed professional representative. This can be a specific or a general authorisation, the latter being recommended as it simplifies the procedure for future validations by the same applicant.

• Translations

  There is no requirement to submit a translation if the patent was granted on or after 1st January 2017, or if the language of proceedings is French or German.

  For patents with an English language of proceedings granted prior to 1st January 2017, the Title, Description and Drawings are required to all be submitted in either French or Dutch, unless the filing date is after 12th December 2007, in which case German is also accepted.

  In either case, if translations are provided in Dutch, the Claims must also be provided in Dutch.

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