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European Patent Office

The European Patent Office (EPO) was set up by the European Patent Convention of 1973. It applies a single, uniform procedure to patent filings in any of its three official languages (English, French and German), and thus enables independent inventors, companies and researchers - from Europe and all over the world - to protect their inventions in a market of some 700 million people.

Q&A on patents and coronavirus

What are patents and why do we need them? And how does the patent system encourage the innovation now urgently needed in diagnostics, detection, vaccines and treatments?
 

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Tel: + 49 (0)89 2399 1833 Email: press@epo.org Call back request More contact information

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