• Patents
• About us
• Topics

Print version.

Promotion

One million European patent applications published

Munich, 17 May 2000 --- The European Patent Office (EPO) has published its one millionth European patent application - EP 1 000 000 A1 - which describes an "apparatus for manufacturing green bricks for the brick manufacturing industry". It was filed with the EPO on 8 November 1999 by a Dutch company, Beheermaatschapij De Boer Nijmegen B.V., of Nijmegen. The invention enables bricks to be manufactured with a traditional appearance.

In the 19 countries of the European Patent Organisation - the 15 states of the European Union plus Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco and Cyprus - patent applications are published 18 months after the date on which they were first filed, which is usually done with the relevant national patent office. Applicants then have twelve months to file with other patent offices, including the EPO. Publication of an application confers provisional protection against unauthorised imitation of the invention.

The publication of the one millionth patent application represents yet another milestone in the history of the EPO. Set up in 1977, the Office was originally expected to receive a maximum of 30 000 patent applications a year, but this figure was exceeded as long ago as 1983, and 1999 saw filings top the 122 000 mark.