Monaco is considering introducing a new online patent-filing platform and updating its intellectual-property laws as part of a wider effort to make the system more accessible to businesses, start-ups and researchers.
The potential reforms were discussed during a meeting in Monaco between European Patent Office President António Campinos and senior government officials, including Finance and Economy Minister Frédéric Cottalorda, Economic Development Director Julien Dejanovic and Jean-Pierre Santos, head of Monaco’s Industrial Property Division.
The most practical proposal is the possible introduction of the European Patent Office’s Front Office platform, an online system that allows users to file and manage patent applications digitally.
Already adopted or being introduced by 20 member states, the platform could give Monaco-based companies and inventors a more direct and standardised route into the patent system. However, no decision has yet been made: Monaco and the EPO will first examine the technical, operational and legal implications, as well as the potential benefits for local users.
Patent laws could also be reviewed
The discussions extended beyond digital filing to the broader modernisation of Monaco’s industrial-property framework.
Possible changes include updating regulations, incorporating recommendations developed through the EPO’s convergence programme and considering legislative reforms that would bring Monaco’s system closer to international standards and the European Patent Convention.
For businesses, the objective would be to create a system that is easier to use while providing greater legal certainty over the protection of inventions and intellectual property.
This could be particularly relevant to Monaco’s start-up and technology sectors, where smaller companies may have valuable ideas to protect but lack the specialised legal and administrative resources available to larger businesses.
The two sides will also explore closer cooperation in processing national patent applications and developing digital tools adapted to the needs of companies, innovators and researchers in the Principality.
Monaco has been a member of the European Patent Organisation since 1st December 1991. The relationship was strengthened in March 2025 with the signing of a bilateral cooperation agreement.
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Photo credit: Manuel Vitali, Government Communications Department