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Report on the 185th meeting of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (Munich, 10 and 11 December 2025)

The Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation held its 185th meeting in Munich in a hybrid format on 10 and 11 December 2025 under its Chairperson Josef KRATOCHVÍL (CZ).

After the Chairperson's activities report, the Council noted the Office’s quarterly activities report, which highlights the developments under the five drivers of the SP2028, and gave a unanimous favourable opinion on the Annual Work Plan 2026. Additionally, the Council was updated on the Strategic Foresight project about the future of innovation and the patent system. The project, launched in September, will be conducted in close consultation with member states, and receive support from the OECD and external specialists, as well as and input from staff and stakeholders across the patent system. In particular, it will include high-level discussions with member states in early 2026 and a further debate at the Annual Meeting on Co-operation in May.

The Office’s proposal on the 5% biennial inflation-based adjustment of EPO fees was unanimously approved by the Administrative Council. This adjustment will not apply to filing, opposition and appeal fees which will remain at current levels.

The proposal for exempting micro-entities from the above 5% biennial inflation fee adjustment was not adopted by the required 3/4 majority, with 26 Member States voting in favour, four Member States abstaining and nine Member States voting against the proposal in a secret ballot.

Turning to personnel, operational and financial matters, the Council unanimously adopted several decisions related to the contributions rates to the different social security schemes, as well as to the yearly adjustments of salaries, allowances and pensions. It gave a unanimous favourable opinion on the Office’s orientation paper on recruitment and talent planning 2026.

The Council unanimously approved the Organisation’s budget for 2026 and the insourcing of EPOTIF asset management to RFPSS Administration as a separate mandate. It welcomed the budgeted operational results of more than EUR 600m, productivity gains of ca. 3.5%, meaning a productivity increase of more than 11% in the past 3 years. This will further strengthen the EPO’s equity position under the IFRS standardised view to about EUR 2.7bn, confirming the Office’s commitment to long-term financial sustainability.

The Council noted the review of the impact of the 2019 Financial Study measures on the Office’s long-term liabilities and the review report of the salary adjustment method – introduced in 2020 as one of the six measures recommended in the study – which had stabilised staff costs and strengthened the Organisation’s financial position. The Office recalled that the review would serve as a basis for reflecting on orientations for a new method to be presented to the Administrative Council in March 2026 and submitted for the Council’s approval in June 2026.

The Council was updated on the latest Unitary Patent (UP) developments by the Office, which highlighted the growing uptake of the UP system since its launch in June 2023, with more than 76 000 requests received, global uptake reaching 28.4% and high satisfaction among users. Further updates were presented by the delegation of Denmark – the country holding the Presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2025 – on its activities, with a continuing focus on the reform of the Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPC) system, as well as by the delegation of Cyprus – the country holding the Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2026. The Council was also informed of the Office’s contribution to the Commission’s upcoming report on the operation of the UP system, as well as of a legal note sent to member states clarifying remaining questions about how the European Patent Convention (EPC) provides for entrusting the EPO with responsibility for unitary SPCs. Information provided by some EU Member States that have not yet joined the UP system, on the status of their respective accession processes, was also noted.

The Council unanimously approved the proposal for the third cycle of the Convergence of Practice programme.

The Council took a number of decisions on individual appointments and unanimously decided to:

The Council also unanimously decided on the reappointment of members of the Boards of Appeal and of the Enlarged Board of Appeal, based on recommendations by the President of the Board of Appeals.

Finally, the Council noted the reports from the chairpersons of its various bodies on their recent meetings, namely of the Committee on Patent Law; the Technical and Operational Support Committee, the Budget and Finance Committee; and of the Supervisory Board of the RFPSS.