European Patent Office - Annual Report 1997
The European Patent Office (EPO) has recently published its annual report for 1997. This year marked the 20th anniversary of the EPO and saw the election of a new chairman to the administrative council, Mr. Sean Fitzpatrick of Ireland, who succeeded Mr. Juliàn Álverez Álverez of Spain. The report shows an above average increase in the number of patent applications, with a 14% increase compared to 9% in 1996. The actual number of applications totalled almost 100,000, with the number of international applications with a European designation, accounting now for more than half of the total received. The EPO, during 1997, reduced its procedural fees by 20% and now also charges less for its patent information products. The whole patent information policy of the EPO was also restructured, making it more cost-effective and universal through Internet integration. These changes reflect European Commission policy on removing financial obstacles to gaining patent protection and accessing related data, which aims at strengthening the innovative capacity of European enterprises. The areas covered by the European Patent Convention continued to grow during 1997, with Cyprus ratifying its accession in December and the signing by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia of an agreement on the extension of European patent applications and patents. Romania also applied during 1997 to accede to the European Patent Convention. The improvement of patent protection in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America featured strongly in the EPO's international cooperation projects during 1997, with the organization of various patent information programmes and training activities.