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OEB Newsfeed

1. EPO, CEN and CENELEC to cooperate on standards and patents

   The European Patent Office (EPO), the European Committee of Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance the support they provide to industry and stakeholders in Europe and beyond in the field of standard-essential patents.

2. EPO publishes blockchain conference report

   As a follow-up to its "Patenting Blockchain" conference, the European Patent Office (EPO) has published a conference report entitled "Talking about a new revolution: blockchain" to provide insight into the impact of this technology on the patent system.

3. European companies and inventors file more patent applications in 2018

   The number of patent applications filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) grew by 4.6% last year, reaching a new high of 174 317 (2017: 166 594). The EPO's Annual Report for 2018 shows an increase in patents filed from all major industrial regions but European companies maintained the lead in their home market,

4. Celebrating International Women’s Day 2019: EPO launches ‘Women in the Lead’ mentorship programme

   The EPO celebrated International Women's Day on 8 March by launching "Women in the Lead", a mentorship programme in which senior managers will mentor women at the Office.

5. EU Presidency conference on Intellectual Property in Bucharest

   EPO President António Campinos has spoken about the importance of cooperation at an IP conference in Bucharest, Romania.

6. Report on the results of the user consultation on increased flexibility in the timing of examination process now available online

   The consultation received a high interest in terms of user participation, with over 620 responses both from individuals and user groups.

7. EPO member states discuss patentability of plants obtained by essentially biological processes

   In the meeting of the Committee on Patent Law, the Office and the representatives of the 38 EPO Contracting States, together with the European Commission as observer, had a first exchange of views on possible next steps following the recent decision T 1063/18 of an EPO Board of Appeal on plant patentability.

8. EPO artwork on loan at the Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe

   A work on loan from the EPO's art collection is being featured in an exhibition at the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany.

9. Enhancing the visibility of intellectual property: EPO and LESI sign MoU on bilateral co-operation

   The European Patent Office (EPO) and the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral co-operation to help innovators make better use of the European patent system.

10. Board of Appeal decision on plant patentability published

    Today, the EPO was informed that in case T1063/18 regarding the patentability of plants a decision has been issued by the competent Technical Board of Appeal.