Commission and Patent Office join forces

For the first time ever, the European Commission and the European Patent Office are joining forces to promote the value of patents and patent information.

They are combining the well-established PATINNOVA conference (between 18 and 20 October 1999) and the EPIDOS Annual Conference (EAC) (between 20 and 22 October 1999) to be held at Thessaloniki in Greece. The organisers have created an event that will bring all users of patents and patent information right up-to-date. It will be the largest gathering of Intellectual Property Rights experts ever held in Europe.

PATINNOVA '99 will concentrate on three main themes:

- Current and future developments in patent information;
- Current and future developments in raising awareness of patents / policy initiatives;
- Patent litigation in Europe: Is there a problem? How often does it occur? What does it cost? What does the future offer?

The EPIDOS Annual Conference will focus on the retrieval of patent information, the Internet and other tools available on the market. Delegates can try all these at the parallel exhibition and the free Internet Café.

There will also be specialised training courses that will be on offer throughout the event.

This joint conference will be of interest to decision-makers in industry and government, patent professionals, innovators, consultants, universities, chambers of commerce and all those involved in the innovation process.
For more details about the organisation of PATINNOVA '99, please contact:

Trevor Jones
Tel. +352-4301-33461
E-mail: Trevor.Jones@lux.dg13.cec.be

For more details about the preparation of the academic content of PATINNOVA '99, please contact:

Dr Manfred Schmiemann
Tel. +352-4301-33353; Fax +352-4301-32073
E-mail: manfred/Schmiemann@lux.dg13.cec.be