EUROPEAN PATENT ORGANISATION
will certainly be one of my first priorities. I will develop technical co-operation by proposing that we share the same information technology tools and training methods for patent examiners.”
Strengthening the European Patent Organisation’s two-tier patent system will be beneficial to the office’s customers and national economies. Te European Union patent under consideration at the moment would offer companies the opportunity to seek protection for technology in the form of a single, enforceable patent, instead of or as well as the European patent, which is a bundle of national patents. “I am in favour of this new patent,” says Battistelli. “It will give a better choice to companies that would be able to use either the European patent or the new EU patent.”
Tere are issues in need of a resolution. Translation costs currently make the European patent more expensive than its US counterpart. Te commission proposes that EU patents will be examined and published in one the EPO’s three official languages—English, German and French—and the published document will include translations of the claims in the other two languages.
Battistelli says: “Te EPO can help to find a solution, especially with the automatic translation systems that we are going to develop. Tis may bring a solution to one of the most sensitive questions— the languages question. We have to find a balance between this question and making the EU patent affordable to most companies, especially SMEs, so that it can be useful to most economies.”
Battistelli is also in favour of a centralised European litigation system for patents. “Te European patent system is working quite well with this centralised granting authority,” he says. “But we don’t have a centralised litigation system, so a patent is granted in a uniform way and then it has to be defended in each member state.
“Tis costs a lot of money and time, and sometimes there are contradictions in the national judge’s decisions. We have a centralised granting authority, and we need a centralised litigation system. For the moment, we are standing on one leg. It’s not a very comfortable position and it can’t last too long. We are waiting for the European Court of Justice to give its opinion on the subject. I am quite optimistic and hope that it would be possible to take decisions on this matter in the coming months.”
In the face of the expanding membership of the organisation, the EPO needs to be armed with the necessary tools to do its job correctly. Seven thousand EPO employees across five offices can be a formidable workforce if they are managed
correctly. Battistelli hopes to “recreate” a trusting relationship between the Administrative Council, the EPO’s management and the staff. Building the staff’s confidence in its leadership can have a positive effect on the organisation as a whole.
Battistelli says: “Te fact is that there was marginal progress in this field before I came to office, so I decided to address the staff as soon as I was elected. I had the opportunity to directly address about 3,000 people from the EPO offices and I met the central staff representation for a very good discussion. By these first actions, I wanted to make people understand that I would like to have a direct, informal and efficient relationship between the management and the staff.”
largely considered by IP professionals as one of the best offices for the quality of our patents.”
Tis does not mean that the EPO will be taking it easy. Te office is implementing plans to improve.
“I think quality is an everyday battle. We have acted to not only maintain but improve our patent quality. We also have our internal quality management system in order to ensure that our services have a good quality. Tis is an everyday preoccupation and we will do everything we can to progress on this line. We have also launched an information technology audit because we want to be able to use the best tools possible.”
“ WE HAVE A CENTRALISED GRANTING AUTHORITY, AND WE NEED A CENTRALISED LITIGATION SYSTEM. FOR THE MOMENT, WE ARE STANDING ON ONE LEG. IT’S NOT A VERY COMFORTABLE POSITION AND IT CAN’T LAST TOO LONG. WE ARE WAITING FOR THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE TO GIVE ITS OPINION ON THE SUBJECT.”
Te Staff Union of the EPO (SUEPO) is keen on establishing a good relationship with Battistelli for both the benefit of the office’s staff and its customers:
“[He] has a solid background in public administration, which SUEPO expects will help bring the EPO back to its original role of serving the European public. SUEPO further hopes that Battistelli will allow for the much-needed improvement in relations between the EPO administration on the one hand, and the EPO staff and their representatives on the other.”
Te service provided by the EPO is judged on the quality of the patents it grants. Regular users of the patent system can look forward to quality patents continuing to be granted by the EPO. “Te office has a very good record,” says Battistelli. “We are
18 World Intellectual Property Review September/October 2010
While the quality of its patents will be improved for the benefit of its customers, the EPO’s research arm is being directed towards climate change to analyse the effect intellectual property has on ‘clean technology’. How patents affect the innovation of clean technologies is unclear. Te EPO wants to establish a link.
Battistelli says: “I think there’s a lack of objective and factual information, so the EPO and its partners have launched a study to find out the importance of patenting clean technology and the effects of doing so. Tis study is about to be completed and is to be presented sometime in October. It is the first comprehensive study on the relationship between patents and clean technology.”
Identifying clean technology is also a problem for the EPO’s customers. National offices, such as the UK Intellectual Property Office, have set up databases displaying clean technology patents, yet what exactly constitutes clean technology remains open. Battistelli has seen the reclassification of clean technology patents at the EPO as the office attempts to give its customers a better understanding.
He says: “Te reclassification of clean technology patents will help people to understand the economic weight of these patents. Clean technologies are very controversial technologies, because under the current classification, it is very difficult to recognise and see them. Te new classification will make it easier for people to identify clean technology.”
Te European Patent Organisation is expanding. When Serbia officially joins, 38 members will have a say in how Battistelli’s office is run. He must listen to their opinions, while providing an effective and efficient service for the EPO’s customers. Pleasing so many stakeholders at the same time will be no easy task—compromises may have to be found. Yet Battistelli seems like a man capable of holding the weight of European patents on his shoulders. Whether or not he will is a different matter.
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