Como – Italy. How to survive when the European Patent Office (EPO) will no longer accept paper patent applications is the principle theme of this year’s EPO Online Services Annual Conference, which will be held at the Spazio Villa Erba conference center, 13-14 November 2007.
More than 450 patent professionals from across Europe will come together and debate the latest developments in online patent management, information dissemination and the role of electronic communication in European innovation and R&D.
Keynote presentations will be delivered by Catia Bastioli (CEO Novamont), Alison Brimelow (President of the European Patent Office) and Maria Ludovica Agrò (Head of the Italian Patent and Trade Mark Office). Key seminars will debate the issue of how applicants and representatives are to prepare for the transition from paper to electronic handling. Discussion will include exploration into business, legal and technical impacts resulting from this transition.
John Bambridge (Principal Director Patent Grant Automation, European Patent Office) will present an insider's view of the changes in processing and the new tools that are required within the EPO when it becomes a paperless environment. Mr. Bambridge will provide some insight into what the new ways of working mean for examiners and formalities staff. Mr. Bambridge will also discuss the new state-of-the-
Participants will also be presented with various examples from the user’s perspective of the Online Services products and services including Register Plus, WebRegMT, EPTOS and esp@cenet. Participants are encouraged to share their views and suggestions on how to achieve an end-to-end solution in the quest for building a paperless future.
The conference will consist of three parallel sessions: presentations, hands-on workshops featuring Online Services and esp@cenet as well as seminars detailing the patent granting procedure. Delegates are able to choose the workshops, seminars and discussion groups they wish to attend dealing with a wide spectrum of innovative issues in information technology.
The conference is of particular interest to patent applicants, attorneys and others involved in the protection of Intellectual Property Rights.
The press conference will be jointly opened by Alison Bromelow (President of the European Patent Office) and Maria Ludovica Agrò (Head of the Italian Patent and Trade Mark Office), 13:00 on 13 November 2007.
Contact:
Meropi Yiasemis
ISC
Rue du Trône 4
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Tel. +32. (0)2.8888.112
Meropi.yiasemis@
www.iscintelligence.com
Richard Schiettekatte
European Patent Office
Patentlaan 3-9
The Netherlands
Tel. +31 (0)70 340 4083
rschiettekatte@
www.epo.org
Editors Note:
The European Patent Office (EPO) grants European patents for the contracting states to the European Patent Convention (EPC), which was signed in Munich on 5 October 1973 and entered into force on 7 October 1977. It is the executive arm of the European Patent Organization, an intergovernmental body set up under the EPC, whose members are the EPC contracting states. The activities of the EPO are supervised by the Organization’
EPO Member States: The following states are currently members of the European Patent Organization:
