PCT National Phase in Luxembourg

The Luxembourg Intellectual Property Office has recently announced a change of practice concerning the language requirements for PCT national phases in Luxembourg.
English is now also accepted for the proceedings in the national phase, similar to a direct national application.

The new situation can thus be summarized as follows.

  • If the international patent application was not published by the International Bureau in the English, French or German language, a full translation of the international patent application into French or German is required.
  • However, if the publication of the international patent application is in English, a translation of the claims only into French or German is required (the description need not be translated).

As a reminder, the time limit for entering the national phase is twenty months from the filing/priority date under PCT Article 22 or thirty months from the filing/priority date under PCT Article 39(1).