The Group B+ was established to promote and facilitate
progress on key issues under consideration at the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) and in particular to move forward on substantive patent law
harmonisation.
Composition
It is chaired by Mr. Peter Strömbäck, Director-General of the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV), and its members
are:
- all
members of WIPO's Group B,
-
EU
member states,
-
the
European Commission,
- EPOrg
member states,
-
the
EPO,
-
South
Korea.
WIPO
and Singapore attend the meetings as observers.
The Group B+ holds its annual plenary session on the fringes
of the WIPO General Assemblies in Geneva.
Sub-Group
In 2014, a B+ Sub-Group was set up to assist the Chair, now consisting
of representatives from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, Spain,
Sweden, the UK, the USA and the EPO.
The Sub-Group has focussed on a package of outstanding
issues, namely:
-
non-prejudicial
disclosures/grace period,
-
publication
of applications,
-
conflicting
applications,
-
prior
user rights and
-
prior
art.
While views differ as to the elements that constitute best
practice, substantial progress has been made on the definition of various principles
and objectives governing the issues under consideration.
User and stakeholder
involvement
The group attaches great importance to transparency and will
continue to engage with national and regional stakeholders and representatives
from the user community.
Documents published
by the Group B+
A selection of documents published by Group B+ is provided
below.
2019
2018
[In 2018, there was no Group B+ plenary meeting.]
2017
2016
2015
2014
Documents published
by the B+ Sub-Group
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
Cornerstones for Harmonisation: a B+ Sub-Group / Industry Symposium
Munich, 20 June 2017
Preparatory documents:
Symposium Presentations:
Symposium Proceedings:
