Patent study required
The Commission's consultation exercise on the patent system in Europe showed clearly that national patent offices have an important role to play in promoting innovation by, for example, disseminating and promoting the use of patent information. It is important that national patent offices work closely with SME representative bodies, professional associations, independent inventors and academic institutions, to ensure that the industrial property needs of these sectors are being fully met. The first objective of the study is to obtain a clear and detailed picture of the innovation promotion activities currently being undertaken by the national patent offices in the Member States of the European Union, and also by the European Patent Office, Japanese and US patent offices. For each of the above patent offices, the study will seek to identify, in particular, the following: i) types of activities currently being undertaken, ii) the intended target of those activities, iii) the methods of promoting and delivering those activities, iv) the actual number and proportion of patent office staff associated with these activities, v) the cost of providing and the revenue generated by these activities expressed in both actual figures and as a proportion of the office's total expenditure and revenue, vi) whether the offices work in partnership with other organizations, including other patent offices, to promote or deliver such activities. The second objective is to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of these activities in meeting their intended objectives. The third objective is to identify, for each Member State, any areas whereby the needs of, in particular, SME, private inventors and academic institutions for patent related services are not being met.For further information, please contact: European Commission DG Internal Market Unit E/2 Industrial property Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200 B-1049 Bruxelles/Brussel Fax: +32-2-299 31 04