The London Agreement has taken one step closer to coming into force. The French government recently adopted a bill that now makes it possible for the French Parliament to ratify the Agreement and a positive vote is expected in November 2007. French ratification is the only remaining hurdle before the Agreement can enter into force, which is expected to take place early 2008. The London Agreement is an optional arrangement designed to reduce the costs associated with the translation burden for European patents. Countries that opt in must no longer require translation of European patents into their national languages; a prescribed language must instead be chosen from English, French and German. Only the claims of the patents may have to be translated into the national language. Currently, the signatories are: Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Sweden and Denmark will also ratify soon. The Italian Government hasn’t yet expressed the position they want to adopt regarding this matter.