2002

Slovenia and Hungary join the European Patent OrganisationThe European Patent Organisation (EPO) is to gain two new member states: Slovenia and Hungary have ratified the European Patent Convention (EPC) and will become contracting states in December 2002 and January 2003, respectively.

Lionel Baranes appointed new Vice-President of the European Patent Office's branch at The HagueThe Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation has appointed a new Vice-President to Directorate-General 1 (DG 1) of the European Patent Office (EPO). Lionel Baranes (54) is the successor to Jacques Michel, who has retired after 15 years as the head of DG 1. Mr Baranes, a French national, is an aviation engineer and graduate of the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique. He worked in the aerospace industry and held a top post at the French Ministry of Defence before being appointed Vice-President of the EPO.

epoline® annual conference in Nice/France: European Patent Office sets the benchmark for Online electronic services in the field of patentsNice will host the first ever annual epoline® conference on 3-5 December 2002. epoline® is the European Patent Office's (EPO) service for filing patent applications and accessing the EPO's information systems via the Internet. epoline® is the most comprehensive interactive service in the field of patents.

International forum on patent protection for software-related inventionsPatent protection for inventions relating to computer software and business methods will be the subject of an international forum on 21 and 22 November at the European Patent Office (EPO). This major event, with around 350 participants from over 50 countries, has been organised by the EPO's International Academy, in co-operation with the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property Law (MPI) and the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (epi).

20 years of co-operation between the European - Patent Office and the patent offices of the USA and JapanThis week in Vienna, the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will hold an international symposium to mark the twentieth anniversary of their trilateral co-operation.

Roland Grossenbacher reappointed to chair the Administrative Council of the European Patent OrganisationAt its 90th meeting, the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (EPO) re-elected Roland Grossenbacher to serve as its Chairman for a second term, beginning on 5 March 2003. Grossenbacher is Director of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in Bern.

"Edinburgh" patent limited after European Patent Office opposition hearing The much-discussed "Edinburgh" patent is to be maintained in an amended form as introduced by the patent proprietor during the oral proceedings. It no longer includes human or animal embryonic stem cells, but still covers modified human and animal stem cells other than embryonic stem cells. This was decided today after a three-day public hearing at the European Patent Office (EPO) before the Opposition Division appointed to consider the case.

Summary of the EPO Annual Report 2001 - Sustained filings growth at the European Patent Office The volume of applications filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) rose again in 2001. Its 158 200 filings comfortably beat the previous year's mark of 143 000. Applicants from Japan, the USA and Germany registered the biggest increase over 2000. In terms of technical fields, the highest scorers were electronic communications, medical technology and electrical components.

Opposition hearing on genetic stem-cell patent at the European Patent OfficeA hearing in the opposition proceedings against the much discussed "Edinburgh" patent, related to aspects of stem cell technology starts at the European Patent Office (EPO) on 22 July. At issue is whether the patent is to be maintained, modified or revoked. The governments of Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, and the German branch of Greenpeace, are among the parties that have lodged oppositions to the patent.

Four central and eastern European states join the European Patent Organisation Having ratified the European Patent Convention (EPC), Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Slovakia will become members of the European Patent Organisation (EPO) on 1 July 2002. This means that the European Patent Office will in future be able to grant patents for a total of 24 states. In addition to the four new countries, these are: all the EU states, plus Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Switzerland and Turkey.

ASEAN and EU to intensify co-operation in the field of intellectual property rights protectionThe European Union and ASEAN have made a significant step forward in their joint efforts to promote internationally accepted standards of intellectual property rights (IPR) in South-East Asia through an international symposium organised in Bangkok under the new European Commission-ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Cooperation Programme (ECAP II).