1. European Patent Office (EPO)
Enrique Molina Galan
Institution’s Logo
European Patent Office (EPO)
EPO’s role in supporting innovation and academic IP commercialization

2. Mission
As the patent office for Europe, we support innovation, competitiveness and economic growth across Europe through a commitment to high quality and efficient services delivered under the European Patent Convention.

3. European patent system extends beyond Europe
European Patent Organisation Founded in 1973 Some 700 million inhabitants
Rep. of Moldova
European member states (38)
European extension states (2)
Bosnia Herzegovina
Montenegro
Validation states (2) Republic of Moldova
Morocco
Laos
Morocco
Future validation states (3) Tunisia
Cambodia
Laos
Cambodia
Tunisia
2016 has been a very good year for the European patent system
significant progress achieved in a number of key areas, ranging from the Unitary Patent to enhancing our performance, to strengthening the international role of the EPO;
Demand for European patents was sustained at a very high level, despite uncertain international developments in 2016;
Europe continues to be a leading target market for innovators from around the globe.
The number of countries recognising European patents continues to grow:
38 member states, including all EU Member States, covering some 650 million inhabitants;
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro as Extension States;
Morocco and the Republic of Moldova have agreed to recognise European patents;
Tunisia has already signed such an agreement and could implement it any time;
Cambodia became a validation state agreeing to recognise European patents on its territory, most probably as of July 2017;
A similar agreement is under discussion with Laos, and could still become a reality in 2017;
In 2016, the European patent system expanded beyond the immediate European neighbourhood – a clear proof of its growing attractiveness owing to its global orientation.

4. 2nd largest intergovernmental institution in Europe
The EPO at a glance
2nd largest intergovernmental institution in Europe
Global player
and voice of Europe in patents
Will be in charge of delivering and
administering the Unitary Patent
ISO 9001 certification:
High-quality European patents are drivers of innovation, securing the competitiveness of the European economy
7 000 employees,
Self-financing:
budget of EUR 2.2bn without any public funding
of which around highly qualified examiners

5. Origin of European patent applications in 2016
Others 5%
S. Korea 4%
Germany 16%
P.R. China 5%
France 7%
Japan 13%
Switzerland 5%
EPO member states 48%
Netherlands 4%
United Kingdom 3%
Italy 3%
United States 25%
Sweden 2%
Other EPO member states 8%
Analysis based on European patent applications filed with the EPO (Direct European applications and international (PCT) applications entering the European phase).
Statistics are based on the first-named applicant.
EPO: the 38 member states of the European Patent Organisation, including EU28

6. Technical fields with the most applications in 2016
TOP10
2016
Change 1
Medical technology
12 263
- 2.1% 2
Digital communication
10 915
- 1.2% 3
Computer technology
10 657
2.9% 4
Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy
10 293
5.1% 5
Transport
8 402
3.6% 6
Measurement
7 442
- 3.8% 7
Engines, pumps, turbines
6 301
- 0.5% 8
Organic fine chemistry
6 189
- 4.0% 9
Pharmaceuticals
5 754
- 5.0% 10
Biotechnology
5 744
0.3%
Analysis based on European patent applications filed with the EPO (Direct European applications and international (PCT) applications entering the European phase).

7. The basic principle of the patent system
Benefits the public
by making the detailed description of the invention available to everyone
18 months after filing
Benefits the owner
by preventing third parties from exploiting
the invention for commercial purposes without authorisation
For up to 20 years
Patents

8. A fair system driving knowledge transfer and innovation
Find existing technology
Learn from it
Build on it
Technological innovation
Patent application
Disclosure to the public

9. Patents - an incentive for economic growth
Makes the latest technological knowledge available to the public
Inspires further innovation
Prevents duplication of R&D
Helps identify new partners and allows licensing
Gives patent holders time to recoup their development costs

10. Patentability
Patents are granted for inventions in all fields of technology
To be patentable, inventions must
be new
involve an inventive step
be industrially applicable
They must relate to a product, process, apparatus or use.

11. Novelty - Article 54(1)(2) EPC
(1) An invention shall be considered to be new if it does not form part of the state of the art.
(2) The state of the art shall be held to comprise everything made available to the public by means of a written or oral description, by use, or in any other way, before the date of filing of the European patent application.

12. Inventive Step - Article 56 EPC
An invention shall be considered as involving an
inventive step if, having regard to the state of the art,
it is not obvious to a person skilled in the art.

13. Sources of state-of-the-art documents
Libraries, Documents' collections
Oral Disclosures - Abstracts of Congresses and Conferences
University Dissertations, PhD Thesis
Internet
- date of availability !!!
- online publications vs paper
Company's Web sites
Databases

14. Can I get patent protection AND publish?
Any invention which is made public (by oral or written disclosure) before an application is filed would be considered as known and not novel!
Any details published could also be used to object under inventive step.
It is important to file a patent application before publicly disclosing the details of the invention.

15. Three possible routes to file a patent application
National
European
International
Via
National offices
European Patent Office or
national offices
International Bureau
Valid in
One country
Up to 38 countries + 2 extension states +
2 validation states
Up to 148 countries
In brief
Applications are filed with the relevant national office and are valid for that state only
One single application in DE/EN/FR for all EPC contracting states
Same legal effects as national patents
An international patent procedure, not an international patent
After the international phase, applicants can choose to enter the national/regional phase in various states

16. Three ways to start the European procedure
European route
European route
Applicant files a direct European application
= 1st filing
European
search and
examination
procedure
National route
National route
Applicant files a
national application
Applicant files a
European application
= 2nd filing
International route
International route
Applicant files a
PCT application
Application enters European phase
) By claiming priority of an earlier application filed with a national office within 12 months.

17. Publication
Patent applications are published on Espacenet, 18 months after the date of filing (or earliest priority date).
The search report is also published.
Third parties can submit observations at any time prior to grant.
Over 90 million patent documents accessible to the public on

18. All patent documents are accessible free of charge on www.epo.org
Espacenet
over 90 million patent documents, easily searchable
Patent Translate
Automatic translation
between English and 31 other languages,
including Turkish,
Chinese, Japanese,
Korean and Russian.

19. Key facts about Espacenet
Most visited area of our website, with around 20 million visits every year
A worldwide collection of patent data
For beginners and experts
Automatic translation of documents between English and 31 other languages, including Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian.

20. The public can use patent documents to
find out what technology already exists and build on it
keep track of what other inventors and companies are doing
avoid infringing other people's patent rights
check out where an invention is patented, and where it is not

21. Training organised by the European Patent Academy
Training on IP and our services and tools for
applicants and attorneys
judges
patent office staff
universities and research centres
businesses and SMEs
An extensive collection of free e-learning materials on

22. Raising awareness − European Inventor Award
Honours outstanding inventors
Five categories and an international jury of experts
Popular prize awarded for the first time in 2013
In a different location in Europe every year
11th edition in Lisbon on 9 June 2016
A major media campaign with worldwide impact

23. Thank you
for your attention!

24. Institution’s Logo