EU Presidency conference on Intellectual Property in Bucharest

The Future of Intellectual Property - Challenges and Perspectives

EPO President António Campinos has spoken about the importance of cooperation at an IP conference in Bucharest, Romania. "The future of Intellectual Property (IP) in Europe - challenges and perspectives" was held on Tuesday by Romania's State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM) under the auspices of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and with the support of the EPO, the EUIPO and the WIPO.

Almost 100 national, European and international IP stakeholders attended, including representatives of national patent offices from 20 European countries.

In his welcome address, President Campinos underlined the significant contribution of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)-intensive industries to the creation of employment and economic value in Europe, stating that "IP has a direct effect on the health of our economy and on our prosperity. With effective patent protection, both foreign and domestic companies can safely invest."

The EPO President also emphasised that "a strong partnership and results-oriented co-operation" with all EPO member states within a globally relevant European Patent Network is key for the future development of the European patent system.

Niculae Bădălau, Romania's Minister of Economy, said: "Industrial property rights are of crucial importance for supporting innovation and encouraging creativity, being essential to maintaining and strengthening the competitiveness of European companies at the global market. There are common challenges that we need to find common solutions and responses for."

Ionuţ Barbu, Director General of OSIM, said: "It is an honour for OSIM to host such a conference in the field of industrial property. The protection of intellectual property in Romania deserves needs to be supported and I am convinced that, together with the Ministry of Economy, we will succeed in achieving this strategic objective for our country."

Cooperation is currently being targeted as an essential tool for supporting innovation. The EPO Strategic Plan 2023, which is presently being developed in an open consultative process with users and stakeholders of the European patent system, will build on actions that strengthen the patent system and help meet future challenges, particularly in the area of patent applications related to digital transformation and the integration of such technologies in key office processes.

The President also used the opportunity to meet the Romanian Minister of Economy, Mr Niculae Bădălău, for an exchange relating to the promotion of IP and the strengthening of key industries in the country through a greater use of the patent system, as patents encourage businesses to further innovate.

Romania has been a member state of the European Patent Organisation since 2003. The EPO and OSIM closely co-operate to build awareness of the economic value of patents among Romanian businesses, researchers and the general public, as well as on the development of shared IT tools and services.