An agreement allowing European patent applications and patents to be validated with effect for Morocco entered into force on March 1. This brings to 41 the number of countries for which patent protection can be obtained on the basis of a single European patent application. Morocco is the first country for which a validation agreement with the European Patent Organisation enters into force, following its signature in 2010. European applications and patents validated for Morocco will have the same legal effects there as Moroccan ones, and will be subject to Moroccan patent law.