PATLIB2024 conference in Türkiye focuses on Strategic Plan 2028, digitalisation and support for SMEs

President Campinos addresses PATLIB2024 conference 

On 19 and 20 September, the EPO held the PATLIB2024 conference in Ankara. The conference is the annual event of the PATLIB network, comprising over 330 patent information centres (PATLIBs) throughout Europe. Organised in co-operation with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office TÜRKPATENT, the hybrid event was hosted on the premises of the national office and attended on-site and online by more than 1 350 participants from 80 countries. In addition, the conference was streamed on EPO social media channels, attracting a further 1 400 viewers.

In his welcome address, EPO President António Campinos emphasised the impressive progress made by PATLIB centres over the past three decades, and the network’s role in fostering greater sustainability within the innovation ecosystem: “As we gather here today, we’re setting out on a new era for PATLIB. We are on a bold mission in how we widen, democratise and simplify access to patent knowledge. The next phase goes beyond expanding the network, it’s about deepening impact to ultimately bring patent intelligence closer to those on the front lines of innovation.”

He went on to discuss how the Strategic Plan 2028 will further strengthen the PATLIB network by enhancing knowledge exchange, supporting initiatives such as Knowledge Transfer to Africa (KT2A) and leveraging AI-powered tools to facilitate informed decision-making for both PATLIBs and their users.

Expert speakers presented on a variety of topics. Recent KT2A highlights included the successful twinning of PATLIB centres and universities across Africa, attested to by participants from Nigeria, Malawi and South Africa. The audience received a preview of the EPO’s Technology Intelligence Platform, as well as an overview of the EPO’s advanced tools and platforms already available to centres and users. Further sessions focused on SME support, technology transfer and certification opportunities offered to PATLIB staff by Europe’s association of knowledge transfer professionals ASTP and the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI).

Promoting economic growth and awareness of patents through bilateral co-operation

During his mission to Türkiye, President Campinos took the opportunity to meet with high-level officials, including TÜRKPATENT President Muhammed Zeki Durak. Discussions centred on joint initiatives of the two offices presented in the new catalogue of co-operation projects under the EPO’s Strategic Plan 2028. The two Presidents exchanged on how bilateral co-operation helps enhance the capabilities of national patent offices and contributes to promoting awareness of patents among local inventors and entrepreneurs, especially of the younger generation. The use of AI-powered tools such as Ansera, along with the EQE Candidate Support Programme and upgrading tech transfer knowledge at Turkish PATLIB Centres, were among the key co-operation projects of interest to TÜRKPATENT.

President Campinos also met with Türkiye’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Muhammed Kasım Gönüllü to discuss the role of patents and IP offices in supporting innovation and economic growth. Their dialogue covered current co-operation projects to support innovative SMEs and startups in making better use of the IP system. President Campinos also emphasised how the EPO contributes to IP talent development through its Pan-European Seal Young Professionals Programme. Topics such as AI and digital technologies, as well as professional mobility, were also discussed.

EPO President signs Memorandum of Understanding with Middle East Technical University

During his visit to Middle East Technical University (METU), President Campinos met with the METU President, Professor Ahmet Yozgatlıgil, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Pan-European Seal Young Professionals Programme. The programme, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, offers recent graduates from partner universities the opportunity to gain work experience and professional training at the EPO. By joining the programme’s network, METU provides its talented young graduates with the chance to pursue their first professional experience in the field of IP and related business units. Students also receive access to a fully-fledged six-month learning programme, the Modular Intellectual Property Education Framework.

President Campinos and President Yozgatlıgil also discussed further avenues for collaboration. These include participation in the EPO's Academic Research Programme and European Inventor Network, as well as the studies published by the EPO’s Observatory on Patents and Technology, which connect patent intelligence with broader socio-economic trends. The conversation underscored their shared goal of fostering the next generation of IP experts and supporting the commercialisation of university research.