1. 1 The European Patent Office An introduction to the EPO and the European patent system SIPO-OHIM-EPO Joint Seminar on European Patents and Designs Chongqing, 16-17 September 2008 Pedro Osona Project Leader EPO's China Cooperation Programme

2. Contents  Patents  About the EPO  What we do  European Patent Grant Procedure  Quality  Facts and figures  Cost of an European Patent  International Cooperation  EPO view of the future

3. What is a patent?  A patent is a legal title granting its holder the right to prevent third parties from commercially using an invention without authorisation.  In return for this protection, the holder has to disclose the invention to the public.  Protection is granted: –for a limited period, generally 20 years –for a specific geographic area

4. What is patentable?  To be patentable, an invention must: –have a technical character (e.g. comprise a product, process or apparatus) –be new –involve an inventive step –be industrially applicable  Some innovations are not patentable under the EPC: –for example, mathematical methods or formulae, computer programs and business methods as such are not regarded as inventions –new plant or animal varieties and inventions whose commercial exploitation would be contrary to "order public" or morality (e.g. the cloning of human life) are examples of inventions excluded from patentability

5. The benefits of patents (I) For inventors, patents can  help safeguard financial returns from the commercial exploitation of the invention  give holders time to recoup their development costs  encourage further investment in R&D

6. The benefits of patents (II) For the economy in Europe, patents are a prime source of new technical knowledge. Patents can help:  identify new technological trends and new business partners  inspire further inventions  prevent the duplication of R&D in industry and universities European patents foster technical innovation, which is crucial to competitiveness and overall economic growth in Europe

7. Contents  Patents  About the EPO  What we do  European Patent Grant Procedure  Quality  Facts and figures  Cost of an European Patent  International Cooperation  EPO view of the future

8. Our 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.

9. The European Patent Convention  The European Patent Convention (EPC) –provides the legal framework for the granting of European patents via a centralised procedure –establishes the European Patent Organisation  1973– Diplomatic Conference in Munich ► signature of the EPC by 16 countries  1977 – Entry into force of the EPC in 7 countries

10. Structure of the European Patent Organisation The legislative body  made up of delegates from the member states  supervises the activities of the Office  has a specific legislative function European Patent Organisation Administrative Council European Patent Office The executive body  responsible for examining European patent applications

11. 34 member states Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Dänemark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Monaco Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom European patent applications and patents can also be extended at the applicant's request to the following states: Albania Bosnia-Herzegovina Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Serbia

12. Autonomy  Second largest intergovernmental institution in Europe  Not an EU institution  Self-financing, i.e. revenue from fees covers operating and capital expenditure

13. Structure Directorates-General Operations Thomas Hammer Operational Support Peter Vermeij Appeals Peter Messerli Administration Brian McGinley ad interim Legal/International Affairs Manuel Desantes President Alison Brimelow Presidential area Status: September 2008

14. Structure Directorates-General Operations Thomas Hammer Operational Support Peter Vermeij Appeals Peter Messerli Administration Brian McGinley ad interim Legal/International Affairs Manuel Desantes President Alison Brimelow Presidential area Search Substantive Examination Opposition Patent Administration Quality Management Information Management Appeals Personnel General Administration Patent Information Language Service European and International Affairs International Legal Affairs and Patent Law Legal Services European Patent Academy Status: September 2008

15. Number of staff Munich3 514 The Hague2 579 Berlin283 Vienna119 Brussels4 Total6 499 Around 60% are patent examiners Status: December 2007

16. Staff from 30 different countries Status: December 2007 Country Number of staff ATAustria231 BEBelgium362 BGBulgaria28 CHSwitzerland63 CYCyprus8 CZCzech Republic16 ESSpain409 DEGermany1 720 DKDenmark75 EEEstonia4 FIFinland48 FRFrance1 153 GBUnited Kingdom511 GRGreece155 HUHungary25 IEIreland81 Country Number of staff ITItaly473 LILiechtenstein1 LTLithuania3 LULuxembourg76 LVLatvia4 MTMalta1 RORomania98 NLNetherlands634 PLPoland53 PTPortugal83 SESweden127 SISlovenia12 SKSlovakia15 TRTurkey26 Others4 Total6 499

17. Locations The EPO has offices at five different locations. Its headquarters are in Munich.

18. Munich  Patent grant procedure  Appeals  Quality management  Administration  Legal services  International affairs

19. The Hague  Patent grant procedure  Information management  Administration  Legal services

20. Berlin  Patent grant procedure  Administration

21. Vienna  Patent information  Administration  European affairs

22. Brussels  Relations with the European institutions and other organisations/associations

23. Contents  Patents  About the EPO  What we do  European Patent Grant Procedure  Quality  Facts and figures  Cost of an European Patent  International Cooperation  EPO view of the future

24. Our role in the European patent system  We provide patent protection in up to 38 European countries based on a single application in one of the three official languages (German, English, French) European patent applications can be filed: –direct with the EPO –via the national patent offices of the contracting states –based on an international (PCT) application  We are also responsible for –limitation and revocation proceedings by patentees –opposition proceedings by third parties –appeal proceedings before the Boards of Appeal

25. Our role in the international (PCT) system  We process international patent applications –we act as a receiving office for international applications (PCT) –we carry out international preliminary search and examination procedures

26. Other services  Free online services –filing –fee payment –file inspection –tracking of legal status of applications  Free patent information services –online access to all European patent documents (updated weekly) –simple online searches in our database of over 60 million patent applications –helpdesk staffed by experts on the Japanese, Chinese and Korean patent systems  Training –conferences –workshops and seminars –e-learning

27. Online filing Thanks to the EPO's electronic epoline service, applicants are able to file patent applications via the Internet. Online fee payment and file inspection are also available.

28. Patent documents on the Internet 1998 The esp@cenet database is launched, making patent information available to the public via the Internet. Today the EPO's worldwide patent search database gives users free access to more than 60 million patent documents (mostly patent applications).

29.  Patents  About the EPO  What we do  European Patent Grant Procedure  Quality  Facts and figures  Cost of an European Patent  International Cooperation  EPO view of the future Contents

30. European patent application Applicant Filing and formalities examination EPO Search and search report together with preliminary opinion on patentability Publication of application and search report Online access to application file and legal status information Public domain Grant of European patent Publication of patent specification Validation in designated states Refusal or withdrawal of application Substantive examination Overview of European patent grant procedure (I)

31. Applicant EPO Limitation or revocation proceedings Substantive examination Grant of European patent Refusal of application Opposition proceedings Appeal proceedings Overview of European patent grant procedure (II)

32. Contents  Patents  About the EPO  What we do  The European Patent Grant Procedure  Quality  Facts and figures  Cost of an European Patent  International Cooperation  EPO view of the future

33. Four key ingredients Highly skilled examiners Rigorous controls and commitment to improvement Comprehensive search documentation Quality Thorough and consistent procedures

34. Highly skilled examiners  Top-level engineers and scientists –high degree of technical expertise –knowledge of the EPO's three official languages  Training during first two years –extensive legal and procedural training –individual coaching by experienced examiners  Continuing professional development throughout career

35. Thorough and consistent procedures  Single procedure –the European Patent Convention provides the legal framework for the granting of European patents  Systematic approach –each application is examined by a division of three technically qualified examiners  Review processes –each opposition is examined by three technically qualified examiners, at least two of whom will not have been involved in the grant proceedings for the patent –appeals heard by independent second-instance judiciary (Boards of Appeal)

36. Comprehensive search documentation  World's largest collection of patent and non-patent literature documents, containing more than 400 million records in over 100 databases and updated daily  Online access to more than 6 000 journals via the EPO Virtual Library  New tools and services such as machine translation to extend the range of easily accessible information  Ongoing efforts to improve the scope and quality of our documentation

37. Rigorous controls and commitment to improvement  Up-to-date guidelines and instructions for examiners  Spot-checks on search reports and patent quality  Internal quality audits

38. Contents  Patents  About the EPO  What we do  The European Patent Grant Procdure  Quality  Facts and figures  Cost of an European Patent  International Cooperation  EPO view of the future

39. Applications filed Direct European filings Euro-PCT applications entering the regional phase

40. European patents granted

41. Applications by residence of applicant (2007)

42. Technical fields with the most filings (2007) 61 309 Number of applications

43. Number of applications in 2007 High-growth technical fields (at least 500 applications filed in 2007) % growth in number of applications 2007 vs. 2006 721 826 639 1 860 2 637 1 808 621 1 391 804 533

44. Leading applicants and patentees in 2007 ApplicationsGranted European patents

45. Patent revoked Patent maintained in amended form Opposition rejected 38.3% 30.2% 31.5% Oppositions in 2007 Oppositions were filed against 5% of granted European patents. Around one third of all opposed patents were revoked. 5% Oppositions Granted patents

46. Contents  Patents  About the EPO  What we do  The European Patent Grant Procedure  Quality  Facts and figures  Cost of an European Patent  International Cooperation  EPO view of the future

47. Cost of an European Patent  EPO fees for granting a Patent amount to EUR 4 600  This price does not include: - Professional representation before the EPO - Translation/publication in the contracting Member States (depending on the number of national languages the documents need to be translated). - National renewal fees (depending on the designated number of Member States by the applicant).

48. Contents  Patents  About the EPO  What we do  The European Patent Grant Procedure  Quality  Facts and figures  Cost of an European Patent  International Cooperation  EPO view of the future

49. International Cooperation  Co-operation with developing countries and countries with emerging economies: - India -ASEAN - OAPI - ARIPO - Latin America  Co-operation with other OECD countries (non-MS): Australia, Canada and New Zealand  Trilateral Co-operation (EPO, JPO, USPTO)  Cooperation with China and Special Economic Regions  Korea

50. TRILATERAL COOPERATION In 1983The EPO and the Japanese and US patent offices set up programme of trilateral co-operation which so far has included technical standards, new databases, document exchange and electronic filing. Today, the works of the Trilateral Organisation are aimed at: –Promoting harmonisation aimed to solve common problems and increase efficiency. –Coordinating projects and exchange programmes. –Promoting the communication among the POs and the user associations of the 3 regions (Industry Trilateral).

51. EPO-SIPO Bilateral Co-operation (I)  The EPO has a long history of fruitful co-operation with SIPO, which started in 1985 with the signature of the first agreement and was significantly enhanced in 1997 making EPOQUE, the European Patent Office search tool, available to SIPO.  In 2007, after twenty two years of progressively built useful co- operation, and significant expansion of the Chinese patent system, SIPO is the third larges Patent Office in the World, the EPO and SIPO have concluded a new agreement on Strategic Partnership.  This Agreement defines clear objectives representing common values and a common mission, and takes into account the new international framework of IPR protection.  Relations between the two Offices are based on trust and are flexible enough to allow clear choice of strategies and main lines of action.

52. EPO-SIPO Bilateral Co-operation (II) EPO-SIPO Bilateral Cooperation main lines of action are:  In order to better harmonize search and examination practices, training and exchange of experiences between patent examiners is a key activity of the annual EPO-SIPO cooperation programmes.  Database exchanges  Automatic translation tools  Cooperation in the field of Automation  Common Classification  Cooperation regarding global issues The EPO and SIPO Heads of Office meet at least once a year to discuss and take common positions regarding global issues of interest for both Offices, review the implementation of bilateral cooperation programmes and sign the annual Work Programme of cooperation activities for the following year.

53. Contents  Patents  About the EPO  What we do  The European Patent Grant Procedure  Quality  Facts and figures  Cost of an European Patent  International Cooperation  EPO view of the future

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