2005

Roland Grossenbacher weiterhin Präsident des Verwaltungsrats der Europäischen PatentorganisationRoland Grossenbacher bleibt Präsident des Verwaltungsrats der Europäischen Patentorganisation (EPO). Die Delegierten der 31 Mitgliedstaaten der EPO wählten auf der Dezembertagung den Direktor des Schweizer Amts für Geistiges Eigentum zum dritten Mal an die Spitze ihres Verwaltungsrats. Seine Amtszeit beginnt im März 2006 und endet im März 2009.

Twenty years' co-operation between the European Patent Office and the Chinese Patent OfficeThe European Patent Office and the Chinese Patent Office today marked the twentieth anniversary of their co-operation at a ceremony in Beijing. Tian Lipu, Commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), and Alain Pompidou, President of the European Patent Office (EPO), looked back on two decades of fruitful collaboration: what began in the seventies with the visit of the first EPO President Johannes Bob van Benthem to Beijing and developed into formal co-operation in 1985 has since become a close partnership.

Trilateral patent offices set to improve mutual exploitation of their workThe European Patent Office (EPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) have agreed to enhance their cooperation by further streamlining their procedures and common technical tools. At their annual trilateral conference the three Offices signed a Memorandum of Understanding which aims at increasing the efficiency of the patenting process and better exploiting the work performed by each office using common technical tools and harmonised procedures.

The EPO follows the EU's Directive on biotechnology patentsThe European Patent Office (EPO) has noted the concern that several groups in the European Parliament have expressed about the grant of European patent EP 1257168 B1.

European Patent Office continues to advocate harmonisation in the field of CII patentsThe European Patent Office (EPO) has followed with interest the vote of the European Parliament today and has taken note of the decision of the European Parliament not to accept the Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions (CII) according to the Common Position of the Council.

Latvia joins the European Patent Organisation as its 31st member stateThe European patent system continues to grow. With the accession of Latvia to the European Patent Convention, the European Patent Organisation now has 31 member states. In addition, five "extension states" – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – also recognise European patent applications and patents on their territory. So European patents now cover 36 countries, comprising a market of more than 560 million people.

More information added to EPO's European patent searchesThe European Patent Office (EPO) continues to expand its information services: for European patent applications filed on or after 1 July 2005, the search report will include an initial EPO opinion on the claimed invention's patentability.

Patent on "Breast Cancer Gene 2" patent maintained in amended form after public hearingAn opposition division of the European Patent Office (EPO) has decided that European patent EP 785216 is to be maintained in amended form.

Public oral proceedings on the "Breast Cancer Gene 2" patent at the European Patent OfficeAn opposition division of the European Patent Office (EPO) will hold public oral proceedings in opposition against a European patent granted in January 2003 to the US company Myriad Genetics. After a transfer of rights the patent is now jointly owned by the University of Utah Research Foundation, Salt Lake City/US; Endo Recherche Inc., Quebec/Canada; the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia/US and HSC Research and Development Limited Partnership, Toronto/Canada.

Patents as economic assets: international conference in BerlinPatents and other intellectual assets have a key part to play in the knowledge economy. Business valuations are increasingly based on company patent portfolios, and patent licensing agreements are now the primary vehicle for technology transfer.

Joint communiqué from the European Patent Office (EPO), African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), French Patent Office (INPI) and the United Kingdom Patent Office (UKPO)What advantages can industrial property (IP) offer the African economy? How is technical innovation best protected and utilised? Where does traditional knowledge fit into the patent system?

Patente zum Erleben und Verstehen für die ganze Familie: " Tag der offenen Tür" im Neubau des Europäischen Patentamts an der BayerstrassePatentes Ausflugsziel für Münchner Bürgerinnen, Bürger und Familien: Unter dem Motto "Hallo München" lädt das Europäische Patentamt (EPA) am Samstag, 11. Juni, zu einem "Tag der offenen Tür" in sein neues Gebäude an der Bayerstrasse 115 ein.

Das Europäische Patentamt bringt München großen wirtschaftlichen NutzenMit der Einweihung des siebten Bauabschnitts seines „PschorrHöfe“-Gebäudekomplexes an der Bayerstrasse vollzieht das Europäische Patentamt (EPA) einen weiteren wichtigen Entwicklungsschritt in München.

Nachfrage nach europäischen Patenten auf RekordlevelDie starke Nachfrage nach Patentschutz in Europa hält weiter an: Im vergangenen Jahr wurden beim Europäische Patentamt (EPA) so viele Patentanmeldungen eingereicht wie nie zuvor.

4 May 2005 - A tradition since 1947The roots of the European Patent Office’s (EPO) branch office in The Netherlands date back to the creation of the International Patents Institute (IIB) in 1947. Set up as a patent searching and documentation institute for a number of European countries the IIB was the first intergovernmental institution in the field of patents in Europe. In June 1978 the IIB was integrated into the newly created EPO to become the Office’s Directorate-General responsible for search and documentation.

The European Patent Office is an asset for the Dutch economyThe European Patent Office's branch at The Hague has developed into a central pillar of the innovation process in Europe.

European patent on herbicide-tolerant plants limitedUS company Monsanto's European patent EP 546090 concerning the production of herbicide-tolerant plants is to be maintained in limited form. That is the decision of the competent Technical Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) after a public hearing in appeal proceedings related to the patent. Apart from the proprietor, the parties to the proceedings were Syngenta, Greenpeace Deutschland and two private individuals.

Supporting the knowledge economy in EuropeSupport for Europe’s competitiveness and the innovation process in Europe were the main topics of the first-ever information day of the European Patent Office (EPO) at the European Parliament (EP). At the invitation of the chairman of the Committee for Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) of the EP, Mr Giles Chichester MEP, the President of the EPO, Mr Alain Pompidou, demonstrated in presentations to Members of the Parliament and the ITRE Committee how European patents contribute to the European economy and what benefits society at large can derive from the European patent system.

European Patent Office to support European competitiveness at the Hannover Fair 2005The European Patent Office (EPO) announces the presentation of its latest systems for supporting innovation and patent information products at the Hannover Fair 2005.

No hospitality for largest international organisation in the NetherlandsIn its endeavour to reach an agreement with the Dutch authorities on treatment of its 2 700 staff in Rijswijk, the European Patent Office (EPO) continues to experience serious problems.

European patent on mutations in breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene amended after public hearingAn opposition division of the European Patent Office (EPO) has decided that European patent EP 705903 is to be maintained in amended form.

Patent on breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene amended after public hearingAn opposition division of the European Patent Office (EPO) has decided that European patent EP 705902 is to be maintained in amended form.

Public opposition hearings on two genetic engineering patents ("breast cancer gene") at the European Patent OfficeOn 19 January 2005 an opposition division of the European Patent Office (EPO) will begin public oral proceedings on the oppositions filed against a European patent granted in November 2001; the proprietors of the patent are the University of Utah Research Foundation and the United States of America.