Archiv 2008

28.11.2008
Pharmaceutical Sector inquiry
The European Patent Office notes with great interest the publication of the Commission's preliminary report on the Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry which the Commission has conducted since January 2008 among a number of pharmaceutical companies.

27.11.2008
No European patent for WARF/Thomson stem cell application
The Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBoA) of the EPO has made a ruling in an appeal connected to the so-called WARF/Thomson stem cell application.

19.11.2008
Technical Board of Appeal maintains two “Myriad/breast cancer” patents in limited form
An EPO technical board of appeal has decided that the patent EP 699754, relating to a "Method for diagnosing a predisposition for breast and ovarian cancer", is to be maintained in an amended form, setting aside the 2004 first instance decision to revoke the patent.

18.11.2008
ip4inno has educated over 1 000 IP trainers
Over the past two years, the partners have developed 12 modules for these "multipliers" to use, which are available on a dedicated website.

17.11.2008
"Myriad/Breast cancer" gene case continues
A technical board of appeal will begin public oral proceedings in the appeal against the revocation of the "Myriad/breast cancer gene" patent in Munich this week.

14.11.2008
Trilateral offices move forward on work-sharing
The EPO, JPO and USPTO agreed to support the recently initiated co-operation of the five largest intellectual property offices, known as IP5.

7.11.2008
Trilateral Conference to align cooperation between IP offices
The Japan, US and European patent offices will cement their cooperation on patent procedures and common processing tools at the 26th Trilateral Conference in The Hague next week.

5.11.2008
EU-China IPR2: Highlights of new work plan
In close co-operation with the Chinese authorities, the project has published a new work plan, outlining 35 activities. The plan marks the project's first anniversary.

4.11.2008
"Quality is a shared burden"
Patent information specialists from 50 countries met in Stockholm last week to discuss ways to improve quality in patent information.

31.10.2008
Five IP Offices announce shared vision on cooperative framework
Heads of the world's five major IP offices met in Jeju, Korea this week to discuss work-sharing initiatives.

29.10.2008
Meeting patent information needs of developing countries
The EPO took part in a Joint Technical Consultation with the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organisation in New York last week.

27.10.2008
Upcoming EC/EPO Workshop: Harmonisation of Industrial Property Rights in Europe’s neighbouring countries
On 28/29 October, the European Commission and the EPO will discuss future strategies with representatives from 16 of Europe’s neighbours.

24.10.2008
Patentierbarkeit von Computerprogrammen
EPA-Präsidentin Alison Brimelow hat der Großen Beschwerdekammer des EPA verschiedene Fragen zur Patentierbarkeit von Computerprogrammen nach dem Euro¬päischen Patentübereinkommen (EPÜ) vorgelegt

21.10.2008
Looking back: 20 years of patent information
The Administrative Council decided on a new European patent information policy in 1988 that paved the way for the Organisation's free online search tool (esp@cenet).

9.10.2008
MEP Award for "research & innovation" goes to Paul Rübig
Sponsored by the EPO, the award was presented at a ceremony in Brussels on Wednesday night. The award recognises the Austrian's achievements in the field over the past 12 months.

1.10.2008
EPO congratulates new WIPO head
Alison Brimelow has welcomed the appointment of Australian Francis Gurry as Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

25.9.2008
EPO Prize winners announced
The prize was awarded in Copenhagen last night as part of the 20th European Union Contest for Young Scientists. This year's winners come from the UK, Switzerland and Austria.

17.9.2008
Croatian patent search launched
The interface supports search functions, and document retrieval in the Croatian language.

5.9.2008
Shining a light on patents and innovation
Statisticians, policy-makers and industry met in Vienna this week to discuss recent advances in the analysis of innovation and patent statistics.

18.8.2008
Seeking the next European Inventors of the Year
The EPO and European Commission are looking for proposals for next year's competition. You can enter yourself or another inventor for the award.

1.8.2008
WIPO: increasing internationalisation of innovation
Worldwide patent filings topped 1.76 million in 2006, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization's World Patent Report 2008.

14.7.2008
EPÜ 2000: erste Rückmeldungen zum Anmelderverhalten
Die im Jahr 2000 revidierte Fassung des Europäischen Patentübereinkommens (EPÜ 2000) trat am 13. Dezember 2007 in Kraft. Sechs Monate danach zeigen erste Zahlen, wie die neuen Merkmale genutzt wurden.

26.6.2008
Amsterdam hosts IP auction
Europe's second live IP auction took place at the IP Business Congress in Amsterdam today, raising seven million euros.

19.6.2008
Fewer patents granted as EPO focuses on quality
The number of granted European patents fell to 54 699 last year, according to statistics published in the Annual Report 2007 this week.

17.6.2008
Große Beschwerdekammer überprüft WARF Stammzellenpatent
Eine öffentliche mündliche Verhandlung in der Sache G 2/06 - Patentanmeldung der Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) in Bezug auf Stammzellen findet am 24. und 25. Juni 2008 im Europäischen Patentamt in München statt

6.6.2008
Background: EPO and SIPO move ahead to secure IPR
With the growth of the Chinese economy and international trade on the rise, the issue of intellectual property rights has become a priority. For over 22 years now, the EPO has worked with Chinese patent authorities to create equal standards regarding IP.

29.5.2008
"Fit for the future": patent information specialists meet in Warsaw
"Making patents understandable" is the future of patent information centres, EPO Vice-President Curt Edfjäll told the PATLIB2008 conference on Wednesday.

23.5.2008
Background: New initiative to protect IPR in China
With a €16 million purse, the EU–China Project on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights is a strong multilateral collaboration between the European Patent Office, its Chinese counterpart (the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office, SIPO), the Chinese government and the European Commission.

7.5.2008
Patent system: Fit to fight global warming?
The European Patent Forum brought together participants from 45 countries in Ljubljana, to discuss how the fields of patenting and IP could support innovations that benefit the environment and counteract climate change.

7.5.2008
Europe’s best innovators honoured in Ljubljana
The inventors of a revolutionary antiviral treatment, a fuel-efficient aluminium car frame, a effective non-invasive eye scan and a groundbreaking surgical robot are the European Inventors of the Year 2008.

6.5.2008
Patents to save the planet?
Green expertise to combat climate change needs to become Europe’s competitive advantage – and the IP system should be one of the key drivers of that edge, according to EC Vice President Günter Verheugen.

30.4.2008
China launches Chinese-English translation tool
A free online machine translation service for patent information searchers and an English version of the "China Intellectual Property Net" website have been launched.

28.4.2008
EPA und USPTO planen Probelauf des "Patent Prosecution Highway"
Der PPH wird die in beiden Ämtern bereits bestehenden beschleunigten Patentprüfungsverfahren optimieren, damit Anmeldern schneller und effizienter ein korrespondierendes Patent erteilt werden kann.

25.4.2008
Celebrating innovation on World IP Day
The EPO is marking World Intellectual Property Day by presenting the technologies behind some of Europe's most remarkable inventions.

17.4.2008
European launch of the EU-China IPR2 project
The EPO's Gérard Giroud and DG Trade's Ewa Synowiec gave an outline of the new cooperation project to representatives of the EPO member states, industry and IP experts from European institutions in Brussels today.

10.4.2008
Nominees for Europe's top innovation prize announced
The "European Inventor of the Year awards 2008" will be presented at a gala in Ljubljana on 6 May. Twelve individuals or teams are in the running.

1.4.2008
EPO grants fewer patents despite rise in applications
President Alison Brimelow said the lower number of patents published in 2007 reflects the EPO's commitment to quality.

27.3.2008
The "Broccoli" case: facts, dates and submissions
The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO (EBoA) is currently considering a case concerning patenting a certain type of invention related to the production of plants and animals.

14.3.2008
Trilateral offices to extend work-sharing initiatives
Representatives from the EPO, JPO and USPTO met in Munich this week to discuss ways to improve efficiency and quality of the patent procedure.

7.3.2008
IP training website launched
The ip4inno project is part of the European Commission's "PRO INNO Europe" initiative to promote innovation in Europe. The EPO is one of 19 participating partners.

5.3.2008
New initiative for Community patent
The Slovenian EU presidency has presented proposals on translations and renewal fees in an effort to revive discussions on a Community Patent. The paper will be discussed in the Council next week.

26.2.2008
PCT applications reach record high in 2007
Six European countries were among the top ten countries of origin last year, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

15.2.2008
Worldwide patent filings on the rise
More than 1.6 million patents were filed around the globe in 2005, according to the WIPO Patent Report 2007, which appeared this week.

8.2.2008
London Agreement: key points explained
The EPO has published the first comprehensive overview of practices in the member states, detailing where and how the agreement applies.

1.2.2008
French and German delegations visit EPO
Talks focussed on Europe's relations with China, the Community Patent and a central European patent court during a visit to the EPO headquarters in Munich on Friday.

30.1.2008
"XY/frozen sperm" patent maintained in amended form
The EPO decided that the contested patent will have to be restricted in scope in opposition proceedings today.

30.1.2008
London Agreement to enter into force on 1 May
The German Justice Ministry has confirmed that France deposited the instrument of ratification yesterday, paving the way for cheaper European patents.

25.1.2008
IP a priority for Slovenian EU presidency
Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak said Slovenia would work towards a European patent litigation system and community patent in a speech to the European Parliament this week.

22.1.2008
President visits Croatian Office
EPO President Alison Brimelow welcomed Croatia as the 34th member state of the European Patent Office during an official visit on Tuesday.

1.1.2008
Croatia and Norway join the EPO
The two countries acceded to the European Patent Convention (EPC) on 1 January, bringing the total number of EPO member states to 34.