2016

Das Personal und die Leitung des Europäischen Patentamts sind schockiert und betroffen angesichts des grausamen Anschlags, der am Montag, den 19. Dezember 2016 auf einem Berliner Weihnachtsmarkt verübt worden ist.

Additional measures now operational for visitors in the Isar building Munich and in The Hague

Der Verwaltungsrat der Europäischen Patentorganisation ernannte gestern den Schweden Carl Josefsson zum ersten Präsidenten der Beschwerdekammern.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli was in Zagreb on 9 December for a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of Croatia’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO).

Der Beschluss folgt auf die Veröffentlichung der Mitteilung der Europäischen Kommission über die Patentierbarkeit von Pflanzen und Tieren, die durch im Wesentlichen biotechnologische Verfahren gewonnen werden

The role of patents in helping policy-makers meet the EU's climate objectives was the subject of an event organised by the EPO on 7 December at the European Parliament in Brussels.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli met with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Kris Peeters today in Brussels to discuss joint efforts to enhance patent protection and the support for innovation in Belgium and across Europe.

In its order for decision G1/15, related to the question of partial priorities and so-called toxic divisionals, the Enlarged Board of the EPO held that a generic claim encompassing alternative subject matter may not be refused partial priority, provided the alternative subject matter has been directly, at least implicitly, and unambiguously disclosed in the priority document.

The Agreement on the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will be ratified by the United Kingdom, according to a statement by UK Minister for IP, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, at the EU Competitiveness Council in Brussels.

The Principality of Monaco hosted the EPO's Online Services User Day this week in Monte Carlo. The event was attended by 120 participants from 19 EPO member states, many of them employed in IP departments of innovating companies, as well as patent attorneys.

Das Europäische Patentamt und das Fürstentum Monaco haben ein Abkommen unterzeichnet, in dessen Rahmen das EPA Recherchenarbeiten zu nationalen Patentanmeldungen für das monegassische Patentamt durchführen wird.

President Benoît Battistelli has outlined the four cornerstones of the Office's patent information policy in his opening speech at the EPO Patent Information Conference, currently underway in Madrid.

The EPO and the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) today published their second EU-wide study of the impact of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) on the European economy in terms of GDP, employment, wages and trade.

The European Patent Office and the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Service of Brazil have agreed to increase their co-operation in the field of patents.

Staff members, staff representatives, trade union and the EPO's Administrative Council gathered to discuss the outcome of recent studies on the EPO's social and financial situation, and occupational health and working conditions.

Three Memoranda of Understanding were signed with the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) relating to Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC), the extension of EPOQUE Net (the EPO's professional online patent search tool) until the end of 2018, and a two-year work plan covering CPC training, data exchange, the future Espacenet and outreach activities.

The visit was held on the occasion of the annual EPO-SIPO Heads of Offices meeting, this year hosted by the EPO in Europe.

Technical and legal experts from the EPO and the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) took part in a joint workshop to exchange information on plant-related patents and plant variety rights.

A delegation from the Kingdom of Cambodia visited the EPO in Munich today to discuss developments in the European and Cambodian patent systems.

The staff and management of the European Patent Office were deeply saddened to hear the news of the heavy earthquake that hit central Italy early Wednesday morning.

The staff and management of the European Patent Office are deeply shocked and saddened by the news of the terrible attack which took place in Munich on Friday, 22 July 2016.

The EPO has published its Social Report 2015, which provides a comprehensive overview of staff and working conditions at the Office.

The European Patent Office - its employees, managers and all staff - are deeply shocked and saddened by the terrorist attack which took place in Nice on Thursday, 14 July 2016.

The EPO signed two agreements at the end of June with the national patent offices of Latvia and Malta to improve conditions for small businesses from these countries seeking to protect their inventions through patents.

At a conference organized by Premier Cercle hosted at the European Patent Office's headquarters in Munich today, leading experts gathered to discuss the latest state of play of the Unitary Patent package and the potential implications of the vote in the UK in favour of leaving the European Union.

Approved with an overwhelming majority of votes the member states of the European Patent Organisation accepted a comprehensive reform proposal of the Office to strengthen the perception of the BoA's independence, in particular by increasing their managerial autonomy, and to improve their efficiency.

The EPO and the Intellectual Property Office of Australia (IP Australia) have launched today their joint Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programme to enable accelerated treatment of patent applications in both regions.

From 1 July 2016, applicants will be able to enjoy a 100% refund on their examination fee for any application they withdraw, or which is refused or deemed withdrawn, before substantive examination has begun.

The staff and management of the European Patent Office are shocked and deeply saddened by the news of the terrible attacks at Istanbul airport on Tuesday night.

Das Amt betont, dass der Ausgang des Referendums weder die Mitgliedschaft des Vereinigten Königreichs in der Europäischen Patentorganisation noch die Wirkung europäischer Patente im Vereinigten Königreich beeinträchtigen wird.

EPO President Benoit Battistelli has today sent the following message of condolence to Michelle Lee, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), following recent events in Orlando

The streamlined opposition procedure will see the duration of opposition cases drop to just 15 months for straightforward cases

Bereits zum elften Mal wurde der jährlich vom EPA vergebene Preis vergeben. Er zeichnet herausragende Erfinder aus Europa und der ganzen Welt aus, die einen außergewöhnlichen Beitrag zu sozialer Entwicklung, technologischem Fortschritt und wirtschaftlichem Wachstum geleistet haben.

The independent survey, carried out by IAM magazine, found the EPO yet again performed best among the world’s five largest patent offices (IP5) for patent quality and service for the fifth annual survey in a row.

The meetings took stock of developments in key areas such as the Global Dossier, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), Common Citation Document (CCD) and patent harmonisation to name but a few areas.

Die Nutzer werden gebeten, ihr Feedback zum Demo-Modus bis 31. Juli 2016 an uppolffeedback@epo.org zu senden; der Demo-Modus dient wohlgemerkt nur zu Testzwecken, und der Abschluss des Eintragungsverfahrens hat keinerlei Rechtskraft.

Benoît Battistelli, President of the European Patent Office, was in Casablanca (Morocco) on Monday, 16 May, attending a conference on "Patent validation and technology transfer - issues and initiatives".

Representatives of national patent offices and patent information centres from 37 countries across Europe and beyond are gathering in Helsinki this week to explore how to improve services to companies, universities, and inventors in support of innovation.

Mit ihren zukunftsweisenden Erfindungen haben die 15 Finalisten des Europäischen Erfinderpreises 2016 Werte in Europa und der ganzen Welt geschaffen.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli has yesterday met with a delegation from the Institute of Professional Representatives (epi) and signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the training of professional representatives.

The UK's Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe, and EPO President Benoît Battistelli met in London on 7 April to discuss recent developments in patents in Europe and around the globe.

Nach einer kürzlich erfolgten Streikabstimmung ist davon auszugehen, dass einige EPA-Bedienstete am 7. April 2016 von ihrem Streikrecht Gebrauch machen werden.

The staff and the management of the European Patent Office are deeply shocked and saddened by the abhorrent terrorist attacks which took place in Brussels today, 22 March 2016.

The reduction applies to searches carried out by the EPO on national filings by small and medium-sized enterprises, universities and independent inventors.

Die Patenteinreichungen beim Europäischen Patentamt (EPA) verzeichneten 2015 einen weiteren Anstieg und erreichten einen neuen Spitzenwert von fast 279 000 (2014: 274 000, +1,6%). Dieser Wert unterstreicht den wachsenden Bedarf an Patentschutz von Unternehmen aus der ganzen Welt.

In einem Memorandum of Understanding, das das Europäische Patentamt (EPA) heute mit der FFPE-EPA, einer Gewerkschaft des europäischen öffentlichen Dienstes, unterzeichnet hat, erkennt es die Rolle von Gewerkschaften als Sozialpartner formell an.

On the occasion of a visit to the EPO in Munich by Grigory Petrovich Ivliev, the new Director General of Rospatent (the Russian Federal Service for IP), the two institutions have committed to further strengthen their co-operation.

The two organisations agreed to further strengthen their relationship through the exchange of information in the area of plant-related patents and plant variety rights. The Arrangement was signed in Munich, where the CPVO delegation, led by President Martin Ekvad, was welcomed by EPO President Benoît Battistelli.

Das EPA freut sich, den Start von PATSTAT Online bekannt zu geben, einer neuen webbasierten Benutzeroberfläche, über die Sie Daten aus PATSTAT, der Patentstatistik-Datenbank des EPA, abrufen und statistische Analysen vornehmen können.

Das EPA hat mit der kolumbianischen Aufsichtsbehörde für Industrie und Handel ein Pilotprogramm "Patent Prosecution Highway" (PPH) vereinbart.

Derzeit finden die Telefoninterviews statt; dabei stellt UAB BERENT Research Baltic allgemeine Fragen zu Recherche und Prüfung sowie konkrete Fragen zu Patentanmeldungen, zu denen 2015 eine Recherche durchgeführt wurde. Für den Bereich Patentverwaltung erfolgt die Befragung online.

Yann Ménière ist beurlaubter Professor für Wirtschaftswissenschaften an der Hochschule MINES ParisTech, wo er bis zu seinem Eintritt in das EPA den Lehrstuhl für IP und Technologiemärkte innehatte.

Mit großer Trauer habe ich vom Tod von Artur Fischer im Alter von 96 Jahren am 27. Januar in seiner Heimatstadt Waldachtal (Schwarzwald) erfahren. Für seine bahnbrechenden Leistungen hat das Europäische Patentamt Artur Fischer mit dem Europäischen Erfinderpreis 2014 in der Kategorie „Lebenswerk" geehrt.

Vor dem Hintergrund einer steigenden Nachfrage nach Patentschutz in Europa haben die 4 200 Prüfer des Amts eine Rekordzahl von 365 000 "Produkten" (wie Recherchen und Prüfungen) erzielt, was einem Anstieg um 14 % gegenüber 2014 entspricht.

Das überarbeitete PACE-Programm bewirkt eine Straffung des bestehenden Systems, eine Verkürzung der Bearbeitungszeiten und eine bessere Anpassung an die Priorisierungsinitiative des EPA, Early Certainty from Search (ECfS).