EPO meets with Nokia

On 28 January, the European Patent Office (EPO) met with Nokia, a leading global provider of fixed and mobile communications network solutions. The Nokia delegation was led by Vice-President and Head of Patent Portfolio Sami Saru and the exchanges were chaired by EPO Vice-President Steve Rowan, who provided an overview of the EPO’s strategic priorities and recent achievements.

Sharing experience of AI-driven tools

The Nokia delegation shared their experience of using AI in the drafting of claims and showed interest in the updates to MyEPO and the EPO’s plans for using AI in the patent granting process. The topic of leveraging AI to increase quality and efficiency for both the applicant and will be discussed during an upcoming technical meeting.

Open and fruitful exchange welcomed by Nokia

The meeting formed part of the EPO’s Quality Action Plan initiative to deepen dialogue with users. In an interview recorded after the meeting, Mr Saru gave an enthusiastic account of the open and fruitful exchange with the EPO. He emphasised the importance of these conversations as a driver of quality, confirming that close partnerships with patent offices support the company’s mission of creating technologies with a global impact. This is the eighth interview in the series “The voice of our users.” In each episode, we invite users to share their views on the EPO, our practices and the patent system. 

This interview was conducted before the European Commission withdrew its proposals for regulating Standard Essential Patents.

About Nokia

Nokia has a portfolio of over 20 000 patent families, with over 7 000 declared essential to the 5G standard, making the portfolio one of the strongest in telecommunications. Last year, Nokia filed 1 184 European patent applications, ranking 12th among the EPO’s top applicants, and in 2023 the company filed 1 186 applications. Since 2000, Nokia has invested EUR 150 billion in research and development, with EUR 4.3 billion having been invested in 2023 alone.

The company employs some 80 000 people across more than 130 countries, with their 6 600 employees in Finland representing around 80 nationalities.