2.13 Validation states 

2.13.001In addition to the extension agreements, the European Patent Organisation has concluded validation agreements with a number of states which are not a party to the EPC and thus not included in the designation "EP" (validation states). These validation agreements, unlike extension agreements, are not limited to European states. Pursuant to such agreements and the relevant national law, it is possible for applicants to validate European patent applications and patents in validation states, where the validated patents will confer essentially the same protection as patents granted by the EPO for the current 38 member states of the European Patent Organisation. 

2.13.002In order to validate a European patent application or patent in a validation state, an applicant has to submit a request for validation and pay the validation fee in due time, i.e. either within the period for performing the acts required for entry of an international application into the European phase or within six months from the date of publication of the international search report, whichever period expires later (see points 5.8.012 ff). A further requirement is that, on the international filing date, the validation agreement has to be in force and the validation state must both be a PCT contracting state and be designated for a national patent in the international application. In view of the time limit for paying validation fees, there is no need to take a decision on the states for which validation is sought – or pay the validation fees due accordingly – prior to the application's entry into the European phase (see points 5.8.012 ff).

–Morocco (since 1 March 2015); 

–Republic of Moldova (since 1 November 2015); 

–Tunisia (since 1 December 2017); 

–Cambodia (since 1 March 2018).