The European Patent Office (“EPO”) recently announced that on October 28, 2008, the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has requested to become part of the European Patent Convention (“EPC”) by depositing its formal instrument of accession. Therefore, and as of January 1, 2009, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will become the 35th member state of the European Patent Organization. As referenced within the EPO announcement (link below), “European patent applications filed on or after 1 January 2009 will include the designation of the new contracting state,” and “[i]t will not be possible to designate the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia retroactively in applications filed before that date. To allow for the designation of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, “the EPO will accord European patent applications filed in December 2008 the filing date of 1 January 2009 if the applicant expressly requests that filing date when filing the application.” Additional information regarding this accession and European patents for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia based on international applications is provided within the link below.

EPO Announcement: LINK