The EPO held bilateral and multilateral
meetings in Geneva at the margin of the WIPO General Assemblies. Over two days,
EPO President António Campinos attended almost 20 meetings, including one with
WIPO Director General Darren Tang and several with IP5 offices and partners
with whom the EPO has Validation and Reinforced Partnership agreements. The EPO
had multilateral exchanges on its regional co-operation throughout Africa and
Latin America.
The Assemblies provided an ideal platform for
the EPO to strengthen relations with its strategic partners and update visiting
delegations on important EPO topics. These include raising awareness of the
benefits of re-using EPO work products, promoting IP and innovation as
catalysts for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, joining diversity
and inclusion initiatives of other IP offices – especially with the USPTO and
in Latin America, and discussing the role of AI in patent processes. The EPO
also shared the findings from its grace
period study, which aims to provide evidence and support
discussions on Substantive Patent Law Harmonisation. With the 2023 European
Inventor Award campaign underway, IP offices were encouraged to nominate
candidates for the next edition.
During the course of proceedings,
President Campinos concluded two agreements: an MoU on a Reinforced Partnership
with the Ukrainian IP office, and an agreement which extends the Office’s support for the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété
Intellectuelle (OAPI) in preparation for a validation
agreement. Once entered into force, the OAPI agreement will enable EPO
applicants to access patent protection in 17 states in Africa and a market of
some 280 million inhabitants.
The 63rd series of meetings took place at WIPO’s
headquarters in Geneva from 14 to 22 July. These
meetings enable WIPO to update its member states on its progress and discuss
future policies. The 2022 Assemblies were held in a hybrid format.