Background information

European Patent Office

The European Patent Office (EPO) was set up by the European Patent Convention of 1973. It applies a single, uniform procedure to patent filings in any of its three official languages (English, French and German), and thus enables independent inventors, companies and researchers - from Europe and all over the world - to protect their inventions in a European market of over 600 million people.

Benoît Battistelli

Benoît Battistelli took up his duties as President of the European Patent Office on 1 July 2010 following his election in March.