(Publ. 6 AUG 2014) On July 1, 2014, changes in the Swedish Patent Act came in force. The main change is that patent applicants may request that the patent be granted in English. This means that those who wish to communicate with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV) in English can do so, without having to translate any documents. The applicant may also receive all PRV’s communication, such as notices, decisions and other official documents, in English.

This is a good change as it reduces translation costs and allows one English application to be used to apply for patents in several countries simultaneously. Thus, it is good both for Swedish companies wanting to apply for patents outside of Sweden, and for foreign companies that want to apply for a patent on the Swedish market.

For patents granted in English, however, the claim needs to be translated into Swedish. The Swedish claims will be published together with the English patent documents for informational use only. Only the English documents have legal effect.

If you want to read more about these change, please see PRV’s official text on the subject.