Safeguarding Europe-Wide Patent Protection: the European Patent Office

The European patent system, created in 1977, provides for the co-existence of a national and a centralised procedure for the grant of patents. Central grant authority for European patents is the European Patent Office in Munich, which carries out its task on the basis of the provisions laid down in the European Patent Convention. The establishment of a Europe-wide patent system has led to a significant increase in the demand for patent rights in Europe. In the framework of their co-operation, the member states of the European Patent Organisation have also created a unique patent information network for accessing the information contained in patent documents. In view of its impending eastward expansion, the European Patent Organisation is set to undertake a revision of the European patent system to ensure its flexibility in the future