2011

Hear what a winner and a nominee have to say about the lasting value of the EPO's awards.

EPO launches a new web-based consultation mechanism for proposed legal changes.

The jury at this year's Corporate Media Awards praised the European Patent Office for its fifteen films on the European Inventor Award 2011, which were "first-rate films of the highest quality, a prime example of successful communication between specialists and the general public".

Meeting in South-West China for their 5th Heads of Office Conference, EPO President Benoît Battistelli, and the Commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO), Tian Lipu, engaged in in-depth discussions in how to enhance their co-operation, and signed a work programme.

The EPO and the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China at their annual bilateral co-operation meeting held in Chongqing signed an agreement which will have a striking impact for the improvement of the global patent system and the dissemination of technological information in the world.

"Structured co-operation between the two systems is needed", the EPO's Wim van der Eijk said in his keynote speech in Brussels yesterday.

With the launch of a new free-of-charge information service from which patent offices and users alike will benefit, the 29th Annual Trilateral Conference of the EPO, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) opened a new era of advancing patent harmonisation across the globe.

Meeting for their Annual Trilateral Conference near Paris, France, the heads of the EPO, the Japan Patent Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office - collectively known as the Trilateral Offices - progressed in their efforts to further harmonise patent systems around the globe by agreeing on steps to enhance efficiency in patent-related procedures between the three regions.

Starting 1 December, Wim Van der Eijk will take over from Peter Messerli as Vice-President responsible for Directorate-General Appeals.

Public oral proceedings in appeal in the "tomato" case today did not end in a final decision on the patent, but with the announcement by the Board of Appeal of its intention to again refer questions of law to the Enlarged Board of Appeal

The 29th Trilateral Conference is taking place in St. Germain-en-Laye near Paris this week.

On 8 November, a technical board of appeal is holding public oral proceedings on the "tomato" patent (EP 1211926). They are part of an appeal case which will result in a decision to maintain the patent, possibly in amended form, or to revoke it altogether.

The EPO technical board of appeal dealing with the appeal against the "broccoli" patent has cancelled the oral hearing scheduled for 26 October in response to recent submissions filed by the parties involved in the case.

The EPO and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have launched a website on the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC), a joint project aimed at developing a classification scheme for inventions that will be used by both offices.

Opening the 21st EPO Patent Information Conference, which is taking place in Kilkenny this week, Mr Battistelli highlighted the importance of worldwide patent data, and drew parallels with open government initiatives in the US and Europe.

We have set up a Facebook page, a Twitter account and a LinkedIn group for people interested in working at the EPO.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli met with European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier at the EPO headquarters in Munich today to discuss the planned introduction of a unitary patent.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli and President of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property of the Russian Federation (Rospatent), Dr Boris Simonov, signed an agreement this week on joint activities to further develop co-operation in IP matters.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli and President of the Brazilian National Industrial Property Institute, Mr Jorge Ávila, signed an agreement this week on joint activities to further develop co-operation in IP matters.

Every year the EPO awards the EPO Prize for Originality to young scientists demonstrating qualities that distinguish successful inventors. This year's winning teams come from Lithuania, Switzerland and Turkey.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia Bozidar Djelic in his first official visit to the country

Alison Brimelow, who served as President of the EPO for three years from 2007 to 2010 has been awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grosses Bundesverdienstkreuz).

The European Commission, the EPO, the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) and the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the European Union met in Brussels this week to mark the end of the EU-China Project for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights.

The EU-China IPR2 cooperation project on the protection of Intellectual Property held a closing ceremony last week at the EU Delegation to China in the presence of 13 ministries and enforcement agencies to commemorate the completion of over 200 technical assistance and training activities across China.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli and the President of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), Ms Amparo Fernández González, this week signed an agreement on co-operation activities in Latin America.

The public nomination phase for the European Inventor Award 2012 is now open. Anyone can join in the search for Europe's finest inventors.

Heads of Offices and representatives from Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, UK, the USA and the EPO met upon the invitation of EPO President Battistelli at Tegernsee on 5 - 6 July 2011 for a meeting to consider the state of affairs concerning patent law harmonisation.

The EPO was ranked first for patent quality among the world's five largest patent offices for the second consecutive year in a survey of corporate and private practice IP professionals.

In his first official visit to San Marino, EPO President Benoît Battistelli met today with representatives of government, academia and industry, to discuss how to further strengthen the country's intellectual property system, in particular with the support of the San Marino Patent and Trademark Office.

The introduction of new services at patent information centres (PATLIBs) can boost demand and improve customer satisfaction, participants in a pilot project told the PATLIB2011 conference in The Hague at the end of May.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli highlighted that closer co-operation between the EPO and its member states is crucial to improving the IP landscape in Europe.

German and French versions have been introduced and new sections have been added for Online services and Learning & events.

The Office received a record number of patent filings in 2010.

The European Commission today announced plans to revamp Europe's IPR.

The European Inventor Award 2011 goes to pioneers in medical research and implant technology, clean energy, construction and water purification

The Director-General of the Tunisian National Institute for Standardization and Industrial Property (INNORPI), Aymen Mekki, and the President of the EPO, Benoît Battistelli, have signed an agreement to cooperate more closely on patent protection.

The agreement recognises the need for standards makers to share information to help improve the quality of patents.

Benoît Battistelli and OHIM President Antonio Campinos signed an MoU

The multi-lingual TV channel shows the first of a series on the European Inventor Award nominees at 19.45hrs CET tonight.

The EPO is sad to announce the death of former Vice-President Norman Wallace, who passed away on 29 March.

European Commission presents its draft regulations on unitary patent protection

Filings at the European Patent Office grew by 11% in 2010

EPO President Benoît Battistelli met with the minister of justice and the head of the State Patent Bureau during his first official visit to Lithuania

The EPO's Vice-President for Appeals received the outstanding achievement award from the magazine at a ceremony in London yesterday.

European companies, inventors and scientists to benefit from free, real-time translation from and to 32 languages, enabling faster and more cost-effective patent research 

"The decision of EU member states today is a decisive step forward to improve the European patent system", EPO President Benoît Battistelli said.

The EPO welcomes the delivery of the opinion of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) on the compatibility of the envisaged European and EU Patent Court Agreement with the EU Treaties published today.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli and Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Traycho Traykov, discussed Bulgaria's IP system and the impact of a unitary patent system at meetings in Sofia last week

Europe's most prestigious innovation prize will be presented in five categories on 19 May in Budapest. With their talent for innovation, Europe's inventors benefit society as a whole, says EPO President Benoît Battistelli.

With its new structure, design and search engines, the new EPO website, now officially launched, puts the needs of professional users in focus.

The new EPO website puts the needs of professional users in focus. Take a look at our beta version for a sneak preview of the new structure and design.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli met with Prime Minister Sali Berisha and with Nasip Naço, Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy, to discuss how to further develop Albania's system for the protection of intellectual property.

The CPC will be based on the International Patent Classification (IPC) system, which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The EPO joined the celebrations marking the official launch of the IYC 2011 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris last week. Chemistry inventions account for around a third of all patent applications filed with the Office.

The system introduced and used by the EPO to tag patent applications in the field of nanotechnology has now been accepted internationally under the International Patent Classification (IPC) system.

The EPO received 232 000 European patent filings in 2010 and granted 58 100 patents

The 6th ASEAN-EPO Heads of Intellectual Property Offices Conference takes place in Hanoi this week.

Guillaume Minnoye and Raimund Lutz today take up office as new vice-presidents at the European Patent Office (EPO).