![\"SACEPO\"](\"https:\/\/www.epo.org\/news-events\/news\/2022\/20221114b\/keyvisual.jpg?lenya.module=svg&height=175&width=560\" "\\"SACEPO\\"")
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\nThe EPO’s latest Stakeholder Quality Assurance Panels (SQAPs) marked a major step towards fostering a common understanding of quality. Held on 27 October, the panels brought together thirty participants, including EPO experts and European patent attorneys for the first time. Their in-depth discussions on patents granted led to the first ever joint assessment of their quality.\n<\/p>\n
\nEach of the six panels covered a different technical field in the EPO\u2019s technology communities: digital technologies, electronics and physics, health and agri-food, infrastructure and mechanics, energy, mobility and space technologies, and materials and production. Panel members assessed a total of 36 patents granted by the EPO.\n<\/p>\n
\nExchanges revolved around the extent to which each patent complies with the European Patent Convention (EPC), adaptation of the description, and the amendments proposed by the examining division at grant stage. Panellists highlighted areas where their perceptions of quality were aligned and where opinions differed.\n<\/p>\n
\nOana Boncea, European patent attorney, said: \u201cThe exchange of views between examiners and patent attorneys at today\u2019s SQAPs was very productive. Life is easier if we listen to each other!\u201d.
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\n\u201cThe definition of quality doesn\u2019t end at the doors of the EPO, but goes way beyond. We can only deliver a high-quality product by working together with our users,\u201d <\/i>added EPO expert Wiebke Hinrichs.
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\nAccording to Francesco Macchetta, a European patent attorney who has also participated in previous SQAPs: \u201cThe regular organisation of SQAPs is essential: frequent interaction between users and EPO examiners is crucial to continuously improving quality.\u201d \u00a0<\/i>\n<\/p>\n
\nThe full results of the insightful SQAP panels will be presented at the 9th meeting of the SACEPO Working Party on Quality on 24 November. They will also be published in the EPO\u2019s annual Quality Report due to be released in June 2023.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe EPO is a leader in terms of quality and aims to continuously improve its products and services. User feedback and listening to our applicants play a pivotal role in this process. Launched in 2019, the SQAPs offer users a regular opportunity to share their opinions on the quality of our products in a structured and collaborative setting.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe SQAPs take place within the framework of the Standing Advisory Committee (SACEPO) Working Party on Quality and provide the EPO valuable feedback on user expectations of quality. This knowledge also shaped the EPO\u2019s new Patent Quality Charter, which took effect on 1 October.\n<\/p>\n
\nBuilding on the success of the SQAPs held to date, we’ll be discussing expanding the concept at the next meeting of the SACEPO Working Party on Quality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The EPO’s latest Stakeholder Quality Assurance Panels (SQAPs) marked a major step towards fostering a common understanding of quality. Held on 27 October, the panels brought together thirty participants, including EPO experts and European patent attorneys …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"nachrichtenkategorien":[130],"class_list":["post-33856","nachricht","type-nachricht","status-publish","hentry","nachrichtenkategorie-epa"],"yoast_head":"\n