About European patents

19731010.5, 16 European countries signed the European patent convention (EPC) in Munich, aiming at strengthening the cooperation between European countries in invention protection, and established the European patent convention organization according to this convention. The European Patent Convention allows the protection of European patents to be extended to all contracting parties at the request of the applicant. 1977 10 10 On October 7th, EPC came into effect and the European Patent Office (EPO) was established as an intergovernmental organization.

The European Patent Organization has an administrative committee and the European Patent Office. The administrative committee is the legislative body of the European Patent Convention Organization. Its main function is to approve the budget and its implementation draft proposed by the Director of the European Patent Office, and to revise the implementation regulations and rules related to fees. The EU has the right to attend the meetings of the Management Committee as an observer.

I. Functions

The European Patent Office is the executive body of the European patent organization, and its main function is to examine and approve European patent applications submitted by applicants from member countries. Its establishment is based on EPC, and its activities are supervised by the administrative committee. The establishment of EPO is the product of European economic and political integration, and its purpose is to safeguard the interests of member States and promote innovation, competition and economic growth.

On June 1978, EPO accepted the first patent application. 1980, EPO granted the first patent. The year-on-year growth of patent acceptance reflects the rapid development and expansion of EPO. 1979, the number of EPO patents accepted reached 1 10,000, and 1983 exceeded 1 10,000, which increased to 500,000 only nine years later. 1998, the number of patents accepted reached the first 1 10,000.

Up to now, EPO has 34 member countries (see table 1) and 4 extended countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Serbia). With the accession of 5438+1 October1Norway and Croatia in June, 2008, EPO granted patents came into effect in 38 European countries (including 34 contracting countries and 4 extension countries), covering a population of over 560 million.

Second, institutional setup.

EPO is located in Munich, Germany, with the first headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, the other four headquarters in Munich, and branches in Berlin and Vienna.

Source: China National Intellectual Property Administration government website.