European Patent Organisation#European Patent Office

{{Short description|European patent administrative organisation}}

The European Patent Organisation (sometimes abbreviated EPOrg{{cite web |title=The European Patent Convention - Alphabetical keyword index |url=https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/epc/2020/e/ma9.html |website=www.epo.org |publisher=European Patent Office |access-date=15 November 2022 |language=en}} in order to distinguish it from the European Patent Office, one of the two organs of the organisation{{EPC Article|4|2|a}}) is a public international organisation created in 1977 by its contracting states to grant patents in Europe under the European Patent Convention (EPC) of 1973.[http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/6/E/pbr06_gowers_report_755.pdf Gower's Report on Intellectual Property] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319012329/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/6/E/pbr06_gowers_report_755.pdf |date=19 March 2008 }}, para 1.34{{EPC Article|4|3}}{{EPC Article|4|1}} The European Patent Organisation has its seat at Munich, Germany,{{EPC Article|6|1}} and has administrative and financial autonomy. The organisation is independent from the European Union, and has as member states all 27 EU member states along with 12 other European states.{{cite court |opinion=R 0001/10 (Offensichtlich unzulässiger Überprüfungsantrag/Ahrweiler) |pinpoint=Reasons 2 |court=Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office |date=22 February 2011 |url=http://www.epo.org/law-practice/case-law-appeals/recent/r100001du1.html |access-date=25 January 2014 |quote=Grund dafür ist, dass das EPÜ nicht Bestandteil der EU-Gesetzgebung ist, sondern mit der europäischen Patentorganisation ein seinem Wesen nach von der Europäischen Union unabhängiges, eigenständiges völkerrechtliches Subjekt begründet, dem zwar allen EU-Mitgliedstaaten, jedoch auch Nicht-EU-Staaten angehören.}}

The evolution of the Organisation is inherently linked to that of the European Patent Convention. See European Patent Convention (EPC) for the history of the European patent system as set up by the EPC, operated by the European Patent Office (EPO), and supervised by the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation.

Organs

File:Europäisches Patentamt in München.jpg headquarters in Munich]]

The European Patent Organisation has two organs:{{EPC Article|4|2}} the European Patent Office, which acts as its executive body, and the Administrative Council, which acts as its supervisory body as well as, to a limited extent, its legislative body.{{EPC Article|33}} The actual legislative power to revise the European Patent Convention lies with the Contracting States themselves when meeting at a Conference of the Contracting States.{{EPC Article|172}}

Besides, the Boards of Appeal, which do not form an independent organ of the Organisation but are integrated within the European Patent Office, are assigned the role of an independent judiciary. Opinion G 3/08 of 12 May 2010, Reasons 7.2.1. The European Patent Organisation is in that sense an international organisation "modelled on a modern state order and based on the separation of powers principle".

= European Patent Office =

The European Patent Office (EPO{{#tag:ref|The abbreviation "EPOff" has been also used to refer to the European Patent Office, in order to distinguish it from the European Patent Organisation, see European Patent Office web site, [http://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/epc/2010/e/ma9.html European Patent Convention (EPC), Alphabetical keyword index.] Consulted on 17 November 2007.|group=notes}}) examines European patent applications and grants European patents under the European Patent Convention. Its headquarters are located at Munich, Germany, with a branch in Rijswijk (near The Hague, Netherlands), sub-offices in Berlin, Germany, and Vienna, Austria, and a "liaison bureau" in Brussels, Belgium.

= Administrative Council =

{{Main|Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation}}

The Administrative Council is made up of Representatives and alternate Representatives of the Contracting States{{EPC Article|26|1}} and is responsible for overseeing the work of the European Patent Office, ratifying the budget and approving the actions of the President of the Office. The council also amends the Rules of the EPC and some particular provisions of the Articles of the European Patent Convention.

As of 2019, the Chairman of the Administrative Council is Josef Kratochvíl.{{cite web |title=Josef Kratochvíl elected Chairman of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation |url=https://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2018/20181212.html |website=epo.org |publisher=European Patent Office |access-date=13 December 2018 |date=12 December 2018 |archive-date=1 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501183407/https://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2018/20181212.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last1=Klos |first1=Mathieu |title=Administrative Council announces new chairman |url=https://www.juve-patent.com/news-and-stories/people-and-business/administrative-council-announces-new-chairman/ |publisher=Juve Patent |access-date=13 December 2018 |date=13 December 2018}}{{cite journal |title=Report on the 157th and 158th meetings of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (10 and 11 October 2018 and 12 and 13 December 2018 respectively) |journal=Official Journal of the European Patent Office |date=31 January 2019 |issue=January 2019 |page=A1 |url=https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/2019/01/a1.html |publisher=European Patent Office |quote=...the Council unanimously elected Josef KRATOCHVÍL (CZ) as its Chairman for a term of 3 years, starting on 1 January 2019.}}

Legal status

The European Patent Organisation has legal personality,{{EPC Article|5|1}} and is represented by the President of the European Patent Office.{{EPC Article|5|3}}

Member states, extension state, and validation states

There are, as of October 2022, 39 Contracting States to the EPC, also called member states of the European Patent Organisation:[https://www.epo.org/about-us/foundation/member-states.html EPO member states], retrieved on 25 July 2020 Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom (see European Patent Convention article for the dates of entry in force in each country). That is, all EU member states are also members of the European Patent Organisation, and, additionally, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom are also members of the European Patent Organisation. The most recent member state to join the EPC was Montenegro which did so on 1 October 2022.{{cite web |title=Montenegro becomes 39th Contracting State |url=https://www.epo.org/news-events/news/2022/20221001.html |website=www.epo.org |publisher=European Patent Office |access-date=1 October 2022 |language=en |date=1 October 2022}}

In addition, there is one "extension state", Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is not a Contracting State to the EPC but has signed an extension agreement under which the protection conferred by European patent applications and patents is extended to the relevant country.EPO Journal 2004, 619 Slovenia, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro were all extension states prior to joining the EPC.

Furthermore, there are so-called "validation states", which are not Contracting States to the EPC but have signed validation agreements that act similarly to the extension agreements to extend the protection of European patent applications and European patents. Morocco, Moldova, Tunisia, Cambodia, and Georgia became validation states on 1 March 2015, 1 November 2015, 1 December 2017, 1 March 2018, and 15 January 2024, respectively.{{cite web|url=http://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2015/20150119.html|title=Morocco recognises European patents as national patents|access-date=25 January 2015|date=19 January 2015|work=European Patent Office|archive-date=22 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122070835/http://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2015/20150119.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2015/20150302.html|title=Validation agreement with Morocco enters into force|date=1 March 2015|publisher=EPO|access-date=6 March 2015|archive-date=5 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305203949/http://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2015/20150302.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2015/20151008.html|title=European patents to cover Moldova|date=8 October 2015|publisher=European Patent Office|access-date=31 October 2015|archive-date=11 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011010707/http://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2015/20151008.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2017/20171004.html|title=European patents in Tunisia: Validation agreement between EPO and Tunisia to enter into force on 1 December|date=4 October 2017|publisher=European Patent Office|access-date=30 April 2019|archive-date=7 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007022028/http://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2017/20171004.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/information-epo/archive/20180209.html|title=Validation of European patents in Cambodia (KH) with effect from 1 March 2018|date=9 February 2018|publisher=European Patent Office|access-date=10 February 2018|archive-date=11 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211071930/https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/information-epo/archive/20180209.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.epo.org/about-us/foundation/validation-states.html|title=Validation states|publisher=European Patent Office|access-date=6 October 2017}}{{cite web |title=OJ EPO 2023, A105 – Validation of European patents in Georgia (GE) with effect from 15 January 2024 |url=https://www.epo.org/en/legal/official-journal/2023/12/a105.html |website=www.epo.org |access-date=23 January 2024}}

Notes

References

External links

{{Official website|https://www.epo.org/about-us/organisation.html}}

Category:Patent law organizations

Category:Organisations based in Munich

Category:International organisations based in Germany