Brexit is not expected to have any impact on the United Kingdom remaining part of the European Patents Office (EPO). This is the main conclusion drawn from a meeting between the EPO, headed by its president, Benoît Battistelli, and a delegation from the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), the British body in charge of examining patents, on 24 January last.
“The EPO is not an EU agency but an independent international organisation, of which the UK is a founding member”, explained EPO President Battistelli. This was confirmed by the CIPA, which has insisted that the EPO is not a European Union institution. It subsequently pointed out that the referendum vote has had very little impact on the number of patents submitted, which remains at an annual average of around 40,000 applications. In its press release, the British organisation concluded that this was, "Good news for Britain. Good news for businesses worldwide”.
During this informal meeting, the two parties also provided an update on the ratification process for the agreement on the unified patents jurisdiction, which now covers 15 member states but not the United Kingdom or Germany yet (see EUROPE 11855). According to one source, the United Kingdom is soon expected to be able to take part in the said jurisdiction for the same reasons as those put forward for maintaining the country within the EPO. The other subjects tackled include reduced submission costs for international patents that are expected to enter into force in April 2018. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)