N. 39, July - September 2008 
Editorial 

Securing the stamping ground for European innovation
Alison Brimelow
President of the European Patent Office
 
Europe is a continent of outstanding inventors and inventions. For this reason, the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Commission, since 2006, honour individuals whose work has made an impact on our lives and the economy through the European Inventor of the Year award. This year's winners include Eric de Clercq of the University of Leuven in Belgium for landmark contributions to antiviral treatment including the development of a drug cocktail for AIDS, and a team from Scotland's SME Optos for developing a new laser scanning technology which allows powerful but pain-free examination of the retina.

Independent inventors and engineers, SMEs, research institutions and universities count among the most important innovators in Europe. Patents play a vital role in helping them to be innovative and competitive. A single patent or patent family can be the launching pad for a start-up firm. Using their patents, firms may be able to attract venture capital and assert their rights in front of larger companies.

The calibre of successful inventions coming from Europe also reflects the quality of the patent system that is there to protect them and facilitate their economic impact. The EPO has been serving inventors since 1977. Today the European Patent Organisation has 34 member states and constitutes the largest transnational patent system in the world. Last year alone, the EPO received more than 140,000 applications, more than half of them from outside Europe.

Why do inventors and companies entrust their ideas to the EPO? Through the centralised grant procedure, it is possible to obtain patent protection in a market of more than 500 million inhabitants on the basis of a single application processed in conformity with a unified law. This procedure not only creates legal certainty for innovating companies but also saves them time and money. European patents are recognised for their high technical standards and presumption of validity: Our 3,700 patent examiners are highly skilled engineers and scientists, specialised in their field and trained to keep up with the latest technological developments while responding to the needs of applicants.

EPO member states have also undertaken significant efforts to keep the system attractive for innovators. The entry into force of the London Agreement in May this year marked an important step towards lowering costs for patentees, as 15 states have accepted to waive most or all of the translation requirements for granted patents. The revised European Patent Convention, which entered into force last December, simplifies access to the system in that it makes procedures before the EPO easier for applicants and patent proprietors, while further increasing their legal certainty.

But important challenges remain. The absence of a centralised European patent court and true Community patent (the EPO grants what is in essence a bundle of national patents) leaves the current system incomplete at European level. And as demand for patents continues to soar around the globe, the EPO must look at efficient ways to master its rapidly growing workload and backlogs. This clearly also involves modernising our organisation and working more closely with our European and international partners in order to ensure that European patents will continue to secure Europe's position as a hig-tech region far into the future.