ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL
Reports on meetings of the Administrative Council
Report on the 52nd meeting of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (7 and 8 June 1994)
The Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation held its 52nd meeting in Munich on 7 and 8 June 1994, with Mr Per Lund Thoft (DK) presiding.
The Council elected Mr Otmar Rafeiner (AT), President of the Austrian Patent Office and head of the Austrian delegation, as chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee for a three-year term starting on 15 September 1994.
The President of the Office, Mr Paul Braendli, presented the 1993 annual report and his report on the Office's activities in the first half of 1994.
He informed the Council that filing figures up to the end of May had developed according to plan. On present trends, a total of around 70 000 applications was expected for the year, about the same number as in 1993. Under budget so far was the number of Euro-PCT filings entering the regional phase; the lower workload here was partly offset by growth in the Office's preliminary examination work under the PCT, which had increased by 50% over 1993. The BEST project now involved 209 examiners in DG 1 and 34 in DG 2.
A third European round table on patent practice had been held in Stockholm on 26 and 27 April, at the invitation of the Swedish Patent Office and with Mr Björklund in the chair. Represented were eleven Contracting States (inlcuding Ireland and Portugal for the first time), the EPI and the Office. Items discussed included the drafting of claims, the significance of disclaimers, and the protection of synergistic compounds. Excellent preparation and active national Office participation had enriched the discussions and helped highlight where the practice of individual offices coincided or differed. The fourth round table would be held early next year in Britain at the invitation of the United Kingdom Patent Office; the main topics would be patent protection for software-related inventions and neural networks.
Regarding staff training exchanges between the EPO and patent agents or patent departments in industry, the President said that this year DG 1 and DG 2 would each be sending 35 to 40 examiners on external placements lasting up to three months; 11 of the DG 2 contingent had already completed or started theirs. In return, the Office would be playing host this year to 17 external trainees, 9 of whom had already completed or started their training programme of up to two months (one spent in DG 2, the other in DG 3).
On patent information policy, he added that the Vienna sub-office would be intensifying development of the legal status database: in recent months it had begun to add Portugal's data, and Sweden's would be included in the near future. This year's annual Patlib seminar had been held in Florence, with over 90 people from more than 20 countries taking part in a three-day lecture and workshop programme.
Turning to legal and international affairs, the President said the new Regulation on the European qualifying examination for professional representatives had entered into force, one result being that unsuccessful candidates from 1993 had only been required to resit the papers they had failed. A new compendium had been produced, containing the 1993 papers plus markers' reports, model solutions and examples of good answers; nearly 10 000 copies had already been sent out. On the public relations side, the Office had been represented at the world's biggest industrial trade fair, held in Hanover in April. The third Patinnova Congress, held in Copenhagen from 2 to 4 June 1994, had also been a great success: this had been the biggest-ever conference of its kind (designed to promote awareness of patents amongst Europe's small and medium-sized firms), and the EPO had been more actively involved in its organisation than in the past.
An extension agreement with Slovenia had entered into force on 1 March 1994. The 100 or so extension requests paid for by the end of April showed how well the new scheme was being received. Similar co-operation and extension agreements had also been signed on 25 January 1994 with two of the Baltic states: Latvia and Lithuania. The extension agreement with Lithuania would enter into force on 5 July (see OJ EPO 1994, 527); that with Latvia was likely to take a little longer, because the legislative preparatory work still needed to be done. Talks with Romania were under way, and other countries had also requested or expressed interest in such agreements.
The President also gave a progress report on the RIPP (Regional Industrial Property Programme) project for the countries of central and eastern Europe. With funding from the European pharmaceutical industry, a very well-attended seminar had been held in Rome on patenting pharmaceutical and agrochemical products, and together with four EPO member states the Office was also organising a symposium in Slovenia on "Patent and trademark services to industry". At the same time, EPO co-operation with developing countries was being actively pursued.
In agreement with the President of the Office, and with a view to promoting innovation in Europe and facilitating access to European patents, especially for small and medium-sized firms, the Administrative Council decided not to implement the 3% fee increase originally envisaged. It also approved amendments to the rules of procedure of the Enlarged Board of Appeal concerning observations by third parties and substantiation of decisions (see page 443 below). On the accommodation front, the Council gave the go-ahead for purchase of the Shell building ("Kantorencentrum Patentlaan") in Rijswijk (NL), authorising the President to sign the preliminary agreement. Lastly, on a proposal from the President, it also reappointed various board of appeal members, and appointed two new chairmen of technical boards of appeal, and an external board member under Article 160(2) EPC.