EPO President meets Portuguese Justice Minister

EPO President António Campinos with Portugal’s Minister of Justice Rita Alarcão Júdice

Exchanges focused on shared priorities for strengthening innovation and competitiveness in Europe, as well as early results from the working agreement on search between the EPO and Portugal.

On 27 February, the President of the European Patent Office (EPO), António Campinos, met Portugal’s Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcão Júdice, together with the Deputy Secretary of State for Justice, Gonçalo Cunha Pires, and the President of the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), Ana Bandeira. The meeting provided a platform to reaffirm the strong partnership between Portugal and the EPO and to discuss strategic priorities. The delegations discussed Europe’s innovation ecosystem and how to advance the single technology market, improving support for innovation and fostering specialised skills. 

Improving access and support for smaller applicants

Portugal’s dynamic innovation landscape was recognised as providing a strong basis for ongoing collaboration in every respect. President Campinos welcomed the swift implementation of the working agreement on search, which entered into force on 1 March 2025. As a result, Portuguese SMEs, individual inventors, universities and research centres are beginning to benefit from reduced search fees. Together with the reduced fees for smaller entities that the EPO introduced in 2024, this is further improving access to the European patent system and support for Portuguese innovators, many of which are already visible in tools such as the Deep Tech Finder. 

Europe’s future innovation landscape: “Scenarios for the future 2025–2045”

During the meeting, President Campinos outlined recent developments at the EPO, noting steady progress towards the objectives of the Strategic Plan 2028. He also invited delegates to take part in the public consultation on “Scenarios for the future 2025–2045”, a joint initiative of the EPO’s Observatory on Patents and Technology with member states and user communities. The aim of the initiative is to anticipate long-term challenges for the patent system and further strengthen co-operation on shaping Europe’s future innovation landscape.

About EPO-INPI co-operation

Relations between the EPO and INPI are framed by a bilateral co-operation agreement signed in March 2025. This year is particularly significant for INPI as it marks the national office’s 50^th anniversary, with several commemorative initiatives planned, including a firefighting exhibition to be held in collaboration with the EPO in May.