On 13 May 2024, the President of the European Patent Office and the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) signed an agreement on the validation of European patents (validation agreement). On 21 February 2025, the Instruction for Validation of European Patents in Lao PDR under the Validation Agreement No. 0153/MOIC, as supplemented by Additional Recommendation No. 0153/DIP, was published, amending and supplementing the revised Patent Law of Lao PDR. These changes to the country’s industrial property legislation have created the legal basis necessary for the validation system to operate.
This agreement enters into force on 1 April 2025. From that date it will be possible to validate European patent applications and patents in Lao PDR, where, after validation, they will confer essentially the same protection as patents granted by the EPO for the now 39 member states of the European Patent Organisation.
Validation in Lao PDR is mainly governed by parts I to V of the Instruction for Validation of European Patents in Lao PDR and the Additional Recommendation, pursuant to the Patent Law of Lao PDR.
Validation in Lao PDR occurs at the applicant’s request.
alidation for Lao PDR is deemed requested for any European or international application filed on or after 1 April 2025. It is not available for applications filed prior to that date, or for any European patents resulting from such applications.