| European patent law |
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| European Patent Organisation |
| European Union |
| Eurasian Patent Organization |
| Centralization and harmonization |
| Historical proposals |
TheEuropean Patent Organisation (sometimes abbreviatedEPOrg[1] in order to distinguish it from theEuropean Patent Office, one of the two organs of the organisation[2]) is a public internationalorganisation created in 1977 by its contracting states to grantpatents in Europe under theEuropean Patent Convention (EPC) of 1973.[3][4][5] The European Patent Organisation has itsseat atMunich, Germany,[6] and has administrative and financial autonomy.[5] The organisation is independent from theEuropean Union, and has as member states all 27EU member states along with 12 other European states.[7]
The evolution of the Organisation is inherently linked to that of the European Patent Convention. SeeEuropean Patent Convention (EPC) for the history of the European patent system as set up by the EPC, operated by the European Patent Office (EPO), and supervised by theAdministrative Council of the European Patent Organisation.
The European Patent Organisation has two organs:[8] the European Patent Office, which acts as its executive body,[4][3] and theAdministrative Council, which acts as its supervisory body[4] as well as, to a limited extent, its legislative body.[9][3] The actual legislative power to revise the European Patent Convention lies with the Contracting States themselves when meeting at a Conference of the Contracting States.[10]
Besides, theBoards of Appeal, which do not form an independent organ of the Organisation but are integrated within the European Patent Office, are assigned the role of an independentjudiciary.[11] The European Patent Organisation is in that sense an international organisation "modelled on a modern state order and based on theseparation of powers principle".[11]
The European Patent Office (EPO[notes 1]) examines European patent applications and grants European patents under the European Patent Convention. Its headquarters are located atMunich,Germany, with a branch inRijswijk (nearThe Hague,Netherlands), sub-offices inBerlin, Germany, andVienna,Austria, and a "liaison bureau" inBrussels,Belgium.
The Administrative Council is made up of Representatives and alternate Representatives of the Contracting States[12] and is responsible for overseeing the work of the European Patent Office,[4] ratifying the budget and approving the actions of the President of the Office.[3] The council also amends the Rules of the EPC and some particular provisions of the Articles of the European Patent Convention.[9]
As of 2019, the Chairman of the Administrative Council isJosef Kratochvíl.[13][14][15]
The European Patent Organisation haslegal personality,[16] and is represented by the President of the European Patent Office.[17]
There are, as of October 2022, 39 Contracting States to the EPC, also called member states of the European Patent Organisation:[18]Albania,Austria,Belgium,Bulgaria,Croatia,Cyprus,Czech Republic,Denmark,Estonia,Finland,France,Germany,Greece,Hungary,Iceland,Ireland,Italy,Latvia,Liechtenstein,Lithuania,Luxembourg,Malta,Monaco,Montenegro,Netherlands,North Macedonia,Norway,Poland,Portugal,Romania,San Marino,Serbia,Slovakia,Slovenia,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,Turkey, and theUnited Kingdom (seeEuropean Patent Convention article for the dates of entry in force in each country). That is, all EU member states are also members of the European Patent Organisation, and, additionally, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom are also members of the European Patent Organisation. The most recent member state to join the EPC wasMontenegro which did so on 1 October 2022.[19]
In addition, there is one "extension state",Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is not a Contracting State to the EPC but has signed an extension agreement under which the protection conferred by European patent applications and patents is extended to the relevant country.[20][18] Slovenia, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro were all extension states prior to joining the EPC.
Furthermore, there are so-called "validation states", which are not Contracting States to the EPC but have signed validation agreements that act similarly to the extension agreements to extend the protection of European patent applications and European patents.Morocco,Moldova,Tunisia,Cambodia,Georgia, andLaos became validation states on 1 March 2015, 1 November 2015, 1 December 2017, 1 March 2018, 15 January 2024, and 1 April 2025, respectively. Furthermore,Costa Rica has signed a validation agreement on 13 December 2024 that has not yet entered into force.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]
...the Council unanimously elected Josef KRATOCHVÍL (CZ) as its Chairman for a term of 3 years, starting on 1 January 2019.
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