Enrique Molina Galan Institutions Logo European Patent Office

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

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.

European patent system extends beyond 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 Future validation states (3) Tunisia Cambodia Laos European Patent Office Laos Morocco Tunisia Cambodia 3

The EPO at a glance 2 nd largest Global player intergovernmental institution in Europe 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, of which around 4 300 highly qualified examiners European Patent Office Self-financing: budget of EUR 2. 2 bn without any public funding 4

Origin of European patent applications in 2016 Others 5% S. Korea 4% P. R. China 5% Japan 13% United States 25% Germany 16% France 7% Switzerland 5% Netherlands 4% United Kingdom 3% Italy 3% Sweden 2% Other EPO member states 8% EPO member states 48% 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 EU 28 European Patent Office 8

Technical fields with the most applications in 2016 TOP 10 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% 5 744 0. 3% 10 Biotechnology Analysis based on European patent applications filed with the EPO (Direct European applications andinternational (PCT) applications entering the European phase). European Patent Office 10

The basic principle of the patent system Benefits the public Benefits the owner by making the detailed description of the invention available to everyone by preventing third parties from exploiting the invention for commercial purposes without authorisation 18 months after filing European Patent Office Patents For up to 20 years 11

A fair system driving knowledge transfer and innovation Find existing technology Technological innovation Patent application Learn from it Build on it European Patent Office Disclosure to the public 12

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

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. European Patent Office 15

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.

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.

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

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.

Three possible routes to file a patent application Route National European International Via National offices European Patent Office or national offices Valid in One country International Bureau or European Patent Office or national offices Up to 148 countries In brief Up to 38 countries + 2 extension states + 2 validation states Applications are filed with the One single application in relevant national office and are DE/EN/FR for all valid for that state only EPC contracting states Same legal effects as national patents European Patent Office An international patent procedure, not an international patent After the international phase, applicants can choose to enter the national/regional phase in various states 23

Three ways to start the European procedure European route Applicant files a direct European application = 1 st filing National route National Applicant files a national application route Applicant files a PCT application Applicant files a European application = 2 nd filing search and examination procedure International route International European Patent Office European Application enters European phase 24

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 www. epo. org/espacenet European Patent Office 25

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. European Patent Office 26

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. European Patent Office 27

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 European Patent Office 28

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 www. epo. org/learning European Patent Office 29

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 § 11 th edition in Lisbon on 9 June 2016 A major media campaign with worldwide impact European Patent Office 30

Thank you for your attention! European Patent Office 31

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