European PatentWorking groups have been or will be set up to prepare the remaining projects. The Customer Service Project will enhance the EPO's support for services provided by national patent offices to users of the patent system, including "standard" and "special" searches . The purpose of the Quality Project is to review existing quality systems in the institutions of the Network and prepare a set of minimum standards they should implement. The European Patent Organization is an intergovernmental organization that was set up on 7 October 1977 on the basis of the European Patent Convention (EPC) signed in Munich in 1973. It has two bodies, the European Patent Office and the Administrative Council, which supervises the Office's activities. The Organization currently has 32 member states. The European Patent Office (EPO) provides a uniform application procedure for individual inventors and companies seeking patent protection in up to 37 European countries. It is the executive arm of the European Patent Organization and is supervised by the Administrative Council. The Network has four main pillars: the Utilization Pilot Project, a new Co-Operation Policy, the Customer Service Project and the Quality Project. The new Co-operation Policy will focus - among other things - on harmonizing national practice, long-term training of patent office staff, use of databases and other tools, and raising patent awareness in member countries. In that way, the European patent system will help to promote innovation and economic growth. The PATLIB (Patent information centers) network will play a crucial role in this. The European Patent Network was set up as a result of the strategy debate (June 2004 - June 2006) on co-operation between the EPO and the national IP offices of the member states. The new co-operation initiatives by the partners in the Network are designed to improve the efficiency of Europe's patent system. | |
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