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OEB Newsfeed

1. Summit gives new boost to Europe's network of patent information centres

   At the PATLIB Summit held last week in Porto, representatives of patent information centres from across Europe provisionally adopted a set of recommendations aimed at boosting the EPO's support for the PATLIB Network, and further improving services for companies, researchers and inventors.

2. Search Matters 2019: Insight for searchers and patent information professionals focuses on AI

   The EPO has held its annual Search Matters conference at its headquarters in Munich.

3. EPO announces the finalists for the European Inventor Award 2019

   The Award, now in its 14th year, celebrates the genius and creativity of inventors and inventor teams for their contributions to scientific and technological progress, their role in generating economic growth, and their impact on our daily lives.

4. Have your say: last round of public consultation for the EPO's Strategic Plan 2023

   The EPO has published its draft Strategic Plan 2023 and is now inviting all stakeholders to provide their views on the document.

5. Medtech CII event to raise awareness among SMEs

   The EPO and the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV) jointly hosted the first in a series of events on computer-implemented inventions in medical technology last week in Lund, Sweden.

6. European Patent Office’s new premises in The Hague receives international award as “Best Tall Office Building”

   The new premises of the European Patent Office (EPO) in The Hague have been named "Best Tall Office Building" by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), an internationally recognised arbiter on tall buildings.

7. Patent research grants – call for proposals 2019

   Under the programme, grants of up to EUR 100 000 are awarded in respect of selected proposals on patent-related matters.

8. Referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal related to plant patentability

   Today, pursuant to Article 112(1)(b) EPC, the President of the EPO has submitted questions to the Enlarged Board of Appeal which relate to the patentability of plants exclusively obtained by essentially biological processes and to decision T 1063/18 of a Technical Board of Appeal of December 2018.

9. EPO and Jordan launch negotiations on validation agreement

   The heads of the EPO and the Jordanian Industrial Property Protection Directorate (IPPD) met in Munich today to start negotiations on a validation agreement.

10. EPO Contracting States discuss next steps regarding the patentability of plants obtained by essentially biological processes

    In the 159th meeting of the Administrative Council, the representatives of the 38 EPO Contracting States together with the European Patent Office discussed the need to find a solution in the short term following the decision T 1063/18