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Patents as economic assets: international conference in Berlin

Munich/Berlin, 20 June 2005 - Patents 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. In recent years there has consequently been a marked rise in the importance of patents as tools for fostering technological innovation, competitiveness and economic growth.

Is our existing institutional infrastructure still equal to the challenge? How can we maximise the economic benefits of patents? How can we strengthen the exchange of knowledge and experience between industry, science and government?

The European Patent Office (EPO), the OECD and Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour (BMWA) are jointly organising a two-day international conference under the title of "Intellectual property as an economic asset: key issues in valuation and exploitation". The programme is geared to experts in innovation, business and finance and to lawyers, patent attorneys and scientists. The speakers include officials from various patent authorities, high-level industrialists, venture capitalists and financial consultants, European Commission representatives and academics from the USA, Japan and Europe, together with Alain Pompidou, President of the EPO, Herwig Schlögl, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, and Rezzo Schlauch, Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMWA.

The conference is being held on Thursday, 30 June, and Friday, 1 July 2005, at the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour in Berlin.

Visit the website at http://academy.epo.org for further information on the event.

Contact:

European Patent Office
European Patent Academy
80298 Munich
academy@epo.org

Media enquiries:

EPO Press Office
Rainer Osterwalder
80298 Munich
press@epo.org
Tel.: + 49 89 2399-5012