Reorganisation of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market

Reorganisation of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market

From October last year, the Office has implemented a flatter management structure, to increase the agility of operational areas and speed up decision making. This change will benefit users by making the Office more reactive and quality-focused. It is designed to help OHIM meet the expectations of its users, and its commitment to them, with […]

Successful 2014 for the Cooperation Fund

Successful 2014 for the Cooperation Fund

The Cooperation Fund has marked 300 implementations by national and regional IP offices of its tools and services. The Cooperation Fund began operations following an extraordinary meeting of OHIM’s Administrative Board and Budget Committee in 2010, and with a €50 million budget, is OHIM’s largest single project to date. The Fund is run in partnership […]

Job openings for patent examiners

Job openings for patent examiners

Vacancies for engineers and scientists If you an engineer or scientist interested in joining an international team at the forefront of technology, apply now for our Spring Selection Events for European patent examiners in Munich and The Hague. Apply online now The events will take place in Munich from 2 to 6 March 2015 and The Hague […]

Patents and climate change mitigation technologies in Latin America

Patents and climate change mitigation technologies in Latin America

A joint EPO-UNEP study: “Patents and climate change mitigation technologies in Latin America and the Caribbean” This joint study by the EPO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) finds that Latin America and the Caribbean has considerable untapped renewable energy potential, which could be harnessed to serve the region’s rapidly growing energy needs. It […]

Warning - beware of approaches and requests for payment

Warning – beware of approaches and requests for payment

Warning – beware of approaches and requests for payment from firms purporting to publish and/or register European or international patent applications and European patents 1. Numerous European patent applicants and proprietors have informed the European Patent Office (EPO) that firms and individuals have sent them invoices inviting them to pay for the publication and/or registration […]

2.1 million patent applications filed at IP5 offices in 2013, up 11%

2.1 million patent applications filed at IP5 offices in 2013, up 11%

More than 2 million patent applications were filed at the world’s five largest IP offices in 2013, an increase of 11% over 2012, according to a new report published jointly by the EPO, the Japan Patent Office, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China, and the […]

European patent office withdraw its limitation of international applications containing business methods

European patent office withdraw its limitation of international applications containing business methods

European Patent Office (EPO) has notified the International Bureau that from January 1, 2015, will withdraw its limitation in respect of international applications containing business methods filed by citizens and / or residents of the United States. This will apply to all such applications filed on or after that date. It is important to note […]

Spain’s actions against the European regulations implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection must be dismissed

Spain’s actions against the European regulations implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection must be dismissed

The unitary protection conferred provides a genuine benefit in terms of uniformity and integration, whilst the choice of languages reduces translation costs considerably and safeguards better the principle of legal certainty The current European patent protection system is governed by the Convention on the Grant of European Patents. That convention provides that, in each of […]

Europe and China step up co-operation on patents as EPO-SIPO anniversary approaches

Europe and China step up co-operation on patents as EPO-SIPO anniversary approaches

The heads of the European Patent Office (EPO) and China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) met in Brussels to discuss how to further improve and align their patent systems in order to better support innovation in both regions. At the meeting future joint activities were defined, and shared with stakeholders of the patent system at […]

STOP PIRACY destroys fakes

STOP PIRACY destroys fakes

The STOP PIRACY Association held a spectacular ‘destruction derby’ in Berne on 21 October. Using a road roller, it scrapped 15,000 tons of counterfeited watches and disposed of 2 tons of counterfeited medicines. The impressive images are to motivate consumers into actively thinking about the risks involved in buying counterfeited products. The action ties in […]

The EPO and India enhance co-operation on patents

The EPO and India enhance co-operation on patents

The European Patent Office (EPO) and the Intellectual Property Office of India (IPO India) have agreed to renew their co-operation on patents in an effort to support innovation in both regions. The EPO and the Government of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral co-operation establishing a framework for structured work relations between the […]

OHIM clarifies its practice regarding the proof of applicable law in Article 8(4) cases

OHIM clarifies its practice regarding the proof of applicable law in Article 8(4) cases

In addition to the earlier trademarks specified in Article 8(2) CTMR, non-registered trademarks and other signs protected at Member State level used in the course of trade as ‘business identifiers’ of more than mere local significance can be invoked in an opposition provided that such rights confer on their proprietors the right to prohibit the […]

Conference highlights growing role of patent data for business and policy-makers

Conference highlights growing role of patent data for business and policy-makers

Some 400 IP professionals from across the globe are gathering in Warsaw this week to look at the latest developments in patent data and how it can be leveraged for business decisions. Opening the EPO’s 24th Patent Information Conference, Poland’s Deputy Economy Minister Grażyna Henclewska said: “We strongly and resolutely rely on an innovation-based development […]

65 officials will be recruited by OHIM in the near future

65 officials will be recruited by OHIM in the near future

The Office has decided to start making use of the reserve lists resulting from the IP competitions OHIM/AD/01/13 and OHIM/AST/02/13. The appointment of these officials will have a globally neutral impact on the budget of the Office which is aligned with the austerity measures adopted by European Institutions and applicable to the Office. This is […]

Agreement between the EPO and WIPO under the PCT

Agreement between the EPO and WIPO under the PCT

1. Pursuant to Article 11(2) of the Agreement between the EPO and WIPO under the Patent cooperation treaty [ 1 ], Annex A, item (ii) of the agreement has been amended with effect from 1 January 2015. The text of Annex A as amended is published below. Annex A Languages and Kinds of Application Under Article 3 of the […]