In our Information Letter N.S. 182 we reported the conclusion of an agreement between Latvia and The European Patent Office whereby it would be possible to extend a European patent to cover Latvia. This agreement finally came into effect on May 1, 1995 and European applications filed since that date can now designate Latvia as a country to which the European patent may be extended.

Additionally, Latvia has concluded an agreement with the United States (which by virtue of most favored nation agreements already entered into by Latvia will also be applicable to nationals of Switzerland and the European Union) whereby "pipeline" protection will be available for pharmaceutical products. In order to take advantage of the pipeline protection, it is necessary that a U.S. patent had been granted for the product in question on an application filed between February 28, 1984 and February 27, 1991 and that the product itself had not been marketed or manufactured within Latvia. Any request to take advantage of these provisions must be filed by:


or within 18 months of the grant of a United States patent, whichever is the later. Once filed a "pipeline" patent application will be examined in the same way as a normal Latvian patent application.