2016

We are deeply shocked and saddened by the horrific attack which took place at a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday

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

Le Conseil d'administration de l'Organisation européenne des brevets a nommé hier M. Carl Josefsson (Suède) en qualité de Président des chambres de recours. Les États membres ont également approuvé le transfert des chambres de recours dans un nouveau bâtiment.

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).

Cette décision fait suite à la publication de l'avis de la Commission européenne concernant la brevetabilité des végétaux et animaux obtenus par des procédés essentiellement biologiques

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.

La principauté de Monaco a accueilli cette semaine à Monte-Carlo la Journée des utilisateurs des services en ligne de l'OEB.

L'Office européen des brevets et la principauté de Monaco ont signé un accord en vertu duquel l'OEB effectuera des recherches concernant des demandes de brevet national pour le compte de l'Office monégasque des brevets.

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.

L'OEB attire l'attention sur le fait que le résultat du référendum n'a aucune conséquence sur l'appartenance du Royaume-Uni à l'Organisation européenne des brevets, pas plus que sur l'effet des brevets européens au Royaume-Uni.

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.

Les utilisateurs peuvent faire parvenir leurs remontées d'informations à l'adresse uppolffeedback@epo.org d'ici le 31 juillet 2016. Nous rappelons que la démonstration ne fait que simuler et tester la procédure et que celle-ci ne produit en l'occurrence aucun effet.

Benoît Battistelli, Président de l'Office européen des brevets, participait lundi 16 mai, à Casablanca (Maroc), à une conférence sur le thème de « la valorisation des brevets et le transfert de technologie.

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.

Les 15 finalistes du Prix de l'inventeur européen annoncés aujourd'hui par l'OEB ont tous amélioré nos vies quotidiennes et participé à créer de la valeur et des emplois en Europe et dans le monde.

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.

Suite à un vote relatif à l'organisation d'une grève, certains agents de l'OEB exerceront probablement leur droit de grève le 7 avril 2016.

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.

Le nombre de dépôts de brevet enregistrés auprès de l’OEB a progressé de 1,6% en 2015, à près de 279 000 (2014 : 274 000). Un chiffre record, qui prouve une nouvelle fois que les entreprises du monde entier recherchent de plus en plus la protection d’un brevet.

L'Office européen des brevets (OEB) a formellement reconnu le rôle des syndicats en tant que partenaires sociaux, via un protocole d'accord signé aujourd'hui avec la FFPE-EPO, un syndicat de la fonction publique européenne.

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.

L’OEB a le plaisir d'annoncer le lancement de PATSTAT Online, une nouvelle interface basée sur l'Internet qui permet d'exécuter des requêtes dans PATSTAT, la base de données statistiques de l’OEB relative aux brevets, et d'effectuer des analyses statistiques.

L'OEB a lancé un programme de traitement accéléré des demandes de brevet avec la Colombie.

UAB BERENT Research Baltic is currently conducting telephone interviews, asking users general questions about search and examination and specific questions on patent applications searched in 2015. For the patent administration part, the survey will be done online.

Yann Ménière est professeur d'économie en congé de MINES ParisTech, où il était titulaire de la chaire "Propriété intellectuelle et marchés de la technologie" avant de rejoindre l'OEB.

C'est avec une profonde tristesse que j'ai appris le décès d'Artur Fischer à l'âge de 96 ans, le 27 janvier, dans sa ville de Waldachtal (Forêt-Noire). En reconnaissance de ses accomplissements, l'Office européen des brevets a décerné à Artur Fischer le Prix de l'inventeur européen 2014 dans la catégorie "Oeuvre d'une vie".

Dans un contexte de croissance de la demande de protection par brevet en Europe, les 4 200 examinateurs de l'OEB ont généré au total 365 000 "produits" (de recherche et d'examen), soit un record qui surpasse de 14 % les chiffres de 2014.

Le programme PACE révisé permet d'optimiser le système existant, de réduire les délais de traitement et d'assurer une plus grande cohérence avec l'initiative "Early Certainty from Search" (ECfS) de l'OEB relative à la hiérarchisation des priorités.