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4 May 2005 - A tradition since 1947
The 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.At the same time a sub-office of the EPO was opened in Berlin and organisationally attached to The Hague branch.
The comprehensive and well-structured documentation as well as the professional expertise of the patent searching specialists laid the foundation for the high quality of the European patent, which today enjoys recognition in a large number of countries around the world. The work carried out in The Hague was completed by the substantive examination procedure done by the Munich-based patent examiners who were also responsible for handling opposition cases against granted European patents.
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This division of labour between The Hague and Munich lasted until the late 1990s, when the Office started its project of bringing search and examination together in order to ensure a greater flexibility in response to the rapidly increasing demand for European patents. Today, almost all of the 3 500 highly specialised scientists and engineers employed as patent examiners at the EPO are involved in the same tasks.
The Office’s search documentation, one of the world’s most important collections of technical, scientific and patent data, is also located in The Hague. Through the EPO’s esp@cenet server, as well the information products and services of the Vienna office, the public has free access to the EPO’s collection of 55 million patent documents stored in the main database.
Following a far-reaching organisational restructuring exercise the EPO’s branch at The Hague is now managing the core task of the Office, to grant European patents. While patent examiners are also based in Munich and Berlin, the top management of Directorate-General Operations is located in The Hague. Moreover, almost all other operations of the EPO, with the exception of the Office’s own judiciary (Boards of Appeal), are represented here, too, making the branch one of the most diversified sites of the EPO.
Relevant economic impact
Since January 2005 the site is managed by Thomas Hammer, Vice-President of Directorate-General Operations. With 2 650 employees the EPO’s branch at The Hague constitutes the largest international organisation in The Netherlands. In terms of turnover, if it were a private quoted company, the EPO would be among the top 50 companies in the country. With large operational and investment spending, the EPO significantly contributes to the Dutch economy, in particular in the province of Zuid-Holland, where 1 in 266 Euros spent comes from the Office. The presence of the Office clearly also has a direct as well as an indirect effect on the employment situation in that area.
For more information please contact:
European Patent Office
Press Desk
80298 Munich
Phone: +4989/2399-5011 / -5018