1. European patent litigation protocol European patent litigation protocol Recent developments Recent developments Patent information centres Patent information centres Toolbox for applicants Toolbox for applicants Patent information products Patent information products INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, E-COMMERCE AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE BCCI, 2001 May 29-31. stoevpe@enpro.bg

2. At the invitation of the French government, an intergovernmental conference of the member states of the European Patent Organisation on the reform of the patent system in Europe was held in Paris on 24 and 25 June 1999. Among other things, the conference mandated a working party - chaired jointly by Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland - to present a draft text for an optional protocol to the European Patent Convention which, with regard to litigation concerning European patents, would commit its signatory states to an integrated judicial system, including uniform rules of procedure and a common court of appeal. In only one year, this working group has drawn up a structure paper of an optional protocol on the settlement of litigation concerning European patents, which sets out the basic contents of a judicial system including the main court and procedural rules for a European patent court of first and second instance.

3. The European Patent Office announces the first Online Filing of a European Patent Application, via the Internet having taken place on the 08.12.2000 within the framework of epoline ®, the European Patent Office´s new e-business range of products and services.

4. What is PATLIB PATLIB is a network of patent information centres throughout Europe. The PATLIB Network was created by the national offices of the member states of the European Patent Organisation and their regional patent information centres. There are 136 information centres across the 19 EPO member states: ten new centres were created in 1999. The main aim of the PATLIB network is for the patent information centres to be able to communicate and to work with each other in a feasible and convenient way.

5. PATLIB is the name given to the network of patent information centres comprising the national patent offices of each member state and all regional patent information centres. In total, over 136 such centres in Europe can help you with information and competent advice. Patent information centres located throughout the Member States of the European Patent Convention provide the opportunity for the public to consult information on patents. This directory contains the addresses of patent information centres belonging to a selected list, provided by the appropriate national patent office. Where possible, the names of contact persons are given. The intention is not only that members of the public should be able to find their nearest patent information centre but also that the centres themselves will be able to contact their counterparts in different regions or even different countries.

6. The "Guide for Applicants" is intended to give firms, individual inventors and their representatives an outline of the procedure for the grant of European patents and, by giving practical hints, to smooth the way to a European patent. This Guide cannot go into all the details of this European procedure or into the extensive development it has undergone in particular cases. Nor does it represent an official commentary on the European Patent Convention (EPC). Readers desiring further information are advised to consult the "Guidelines for examination in the European Patent Office", issued by the President of the European Patent Office for the benefit of those staff concerned with the procedure.

7. This database of professional representatives is maintained by the European Patent Office. The information contained in this site will be updated as soon as we get knowledge of new entries, amendments or deletions. Information on how to become a European patent attorney is available as a separate EPO Brochure.

8. patent policy Successful commercial strategy hinges upon an effective patent policy. This primarily involves filing national or international patent applications. Attacks on and defence of patent portfolios are also a component of such a policy. special searches The European Patent Office offers a range of special search services in parallel to its prior art searches during the European and PCT procedures and its searches for national offices.

9. Each year, about a million patent documents are published, 200 000 of them in Europe. Patent information products give the public access to this huge collection of technical and scientific knowledge by organising and indexing the data to make it easy to use. Because of a lack of information, existing inventions are re-invented, problems that have already be solved are solved again, and products that already are on the market are re-developed.

10. simply because of the lack of information. Only 59 000 companies in Europe have made use of the patent system in the last five years, leaving another 111 000 companies that should have the patent system, but have not. 80% of technical information is published in patent documentation - and often nowhere else. Duplication of efforts in this way costs European industry US $ 20 000 000 000 every year -

11. Digital Economy §Increasing Returns to Scale §No Transition Period §Market Access, Market Presence and Market Connection §B2B 4 Trillion USD, 2004 §US GPS Navigation market: 24 Billion USD, 2004 (GDP BULGARIA: 20 Billion USD)

12. Key Issues §E-Government §E-Payment §E-Infrastructure §E-Startups §E-Regulation §E-Commerce §E-Patent

13. 7 Largest Patent Approvals European Patent Office (1998) 22% 11% 4% 3% 32% 25% Germany France Italy UK Netherlds. Japan USA Source: BBFAI research 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 1985199019952000 Germany EU w/out Germany Rising Productivity Unification Value Added per Hour per Worker in € (1998) Innovation Drives Productivity

14. You can contact us at : 42, Parchevich St., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria. Tel. (+359 2) 987 26 31, Fax (+359 2) 987 32 09, Web page: www.bcci.bg, E-mail: bcci@bcci.bg