1. 30/06/2015 The European Patent Office An introduction to the EPO and the European patent system

2. Contents  Patents  About us  What we do  Quality  Facts and figures  Milestones

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 are as such not regarded as inventions –new plant or animal varieties and inventions whose commercial exploitation would be contrary to "ordre 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 us  What we do  Quality  Facts and figures  Milestones

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 - marked as follows

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. 36 member states Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Malta Monaco Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania San Marino 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 Serbia Status: July 2009

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 Legal/International Affairs Wim van der Eijk (ad interim) President Alison Brimelow Presidential area Status: July 2009

14. Structure Directorates-General Operations Thomas Hammer Operational Support Peter Vermeij Appeals Peter Messerli Administration Brian McGinley Legal/International Affairs Wim van der Eijk (ad interim) President Alison Brimelow Presidential area Business Services Search Substantive Examination Opposition Patent Administration Quality Management Information Management Appeals Human Resources General Administration Language Service European and International Affairs International Legal Affairs and Patent Law Legal Services European Patent Academy Status: July 2009 Patent Information

15. Number of staff Munich3 629 The Hague2 659 Berlin276 Vienna117 Brussels4 Total6 685 Around 60% are patent examiners Status: December 2008

16. Staff from 32 different countries Status: December 2008 Country Number of staff ATAustria237 BEBelgium357 BGBulgaria30 CHSwitzerland69 CYCyprus8 CZCzech Republic20 ESSpain426 DEGermany1 807 DKDenmark74 EEEstonia6 FIFinland48 FRFrance1 190 GBUnited Kingdom514 GRGreece160 HUHungary25 IEIreland82 HRCroatia2 Country Number of staff ITItaly497 LILiechtenstein1 LTLithuania4 LULuxembourg73 LVLatvia4 MTMalta2 RORomania107 NLNetherlands618 PLPoland56 PTPortugal85 SESweden124 SISlovenia14 SKSlovakia15 TRTurkey26 Others3 Total6 685 ISIceland1

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 us  What we do  Quality  Facts and figures  Milestones

24. Our role in the European patent system  We provide patent protection in up to 39 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 search and preliminary 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. 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 Observations by third parties possible 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)

28. 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) Opposition by third parties possible Public domain

29. Contents  Patents  About us  What we do  Quality  Facts and figures  Milestones

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

31. 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

32. 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)

33. Contents  Patents  About us  What we do  Quality  Facts and figures  Milestones

34. 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

35. 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

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

37. European patents granted

38. Applications by residence of applicant (2008)

39. Technical fields with the most filings (2008) 63 736 Number of applications

40. Number of applications in 2008 High-growth technical fields (at least 500 applications filed in 2008) % growth in number of applications 2008 vs. 2007 1 074 522 655 532 737 2 365 735 502 2 109 539

41. Leading applicants and patentees in 2008 ApplicationsGranted European patents

42. Patent revoked Patent maintained in amended form Opposition rejected 39.8% 31.6% 28.6% Oppositions in 2008 Oppositions were filed against 5% of granted European patents. Over one third of all opposed patents were revoked. 5% Oppositions Granted patents

43. Contents  Patents  About us  What we do  Quality  Facts and figures  Milestones

44. 1980 The first European patent is granted to German systems manufacturer Scheidt & Bachmann. The invention relates to a device for the temporary storage of coins for use in ticket machines. The first European patent

45. Trilateral co-operation 1983 The EPO and the Japanese and US patent offices set up a programme of trilateral co-operation which so far has included technical standards, new databases, document exchange and electronic filing. Today, these three offices receive 85% of all applications filed worldwide.

46. Co-operation with the Chinese Patent Office 1985 This year sees the start of the EPO's co-operation with the Chinese Patent Office. The EPO helps China to establish a modern and effective patent system. This includes the provision of a search system, the training of examiners and the exchange of databases. Today the Chinese office is the third largest in the world.

47. Patent law versus bioethics 1992 The conflict between patent law and bioethics hits the headlines with the grant by the EPO of the first ever patent on a mammal (EP 169672). Implanted with a human cancer gene, the so-called oncomouse has an increased disposition for developing tumours.

48. 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).

49. Opposition to stem cells 1999 The granting of the Edinburgh patent, which relates among other things to human embryonic stem cells, leads to wide-spread political debate about the boundaries of patent protection.

50. Online filing 2000 Thanks to the EPO's electronic epoline service, applicants are able for the first time to file patent applications via the Internet. Online fee payment and file inspection follow.

51. Need more information? www.epo.org info@epo.org Tel. + 49 (0)89 2399 - 4636