European Round Table on Patent Practice explained

The European Round Table on Patent Practice (EUROTAB) is described as "a pan-European group consisting of lawyers (including European Patent Office (EPO) staff, and Commission, national patent offices) in the patent field",^[1] or a body where the national patent offices of the Contracting States of the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the European Patent Office come together to discuss differences in practice and see whether a harmonized approach is possible.^[2]

Along with the Standing Advisory Committee before the European Patent Office (SACEPO), a committee advising the European Patent Office on patent law issues, and the European Patent Judges' Symposium, EUROTAB is one of the most significant and institutionalised forums of legal professionals created and sponsored by the EPO.^[1] Already in the 1990s, "the strong interest and active participation of contracting states in these discussions confirm[ed] the growing importance of EUROTAB as an expert forum on patent practice in Europe".^[3]

Meetings

• 1st, 6–7 April 1992, Munich, Germany^[4]
• 2nd, 22–23 April 1993, Taastrup, Denmark^[4]
• 3rd, 26–27 April 1994, Stockholm, Sweden^{[3] [4]}
• 4th, 9–10 May 1995, Newport, United Kingdom^{[3] [4]}
• 5th, 13–14 May 1996, Vienna, Austria^[5]
• 6th, 22–23 May 1997, Paris, France^[6]
• 7th, 28–29 May 1998, Lisbon, Portugal^{[4] [7]}
• 8th, 20–21 May 1999, Munich, Germany^[7]
• 9th, 25–26 May 2000, Lyon, France^[4]
• 10th, 10–11 May 2001, Madrid, Spain^[8]
• 11th, 16–17 May 2002, Kilkenny, Ireland^[9]
• 12th, 15–16 May 2003, Berlin, Germany
• 13th, 13–14 May 2004, Budapest, Hungary^[10]
• 14th, 12–13 May 2005, Taastrup, Denmark^[11]
• 15th, 11–12 May 2006, Ljubljana, Slovenia^[12]
• 16th, 10–11 May 2007, Prague, Czech Republic
• 17th, 8–9 May 2008, Ankara, Turkey^[13]
• 18th, 7–8 May 2009, Warsaw, Poland^[14]
• 19th, 20–21 May 2010, Bucharest, Romania^[4]
• 20th, 26–27 May 2011, Munich, Germany^[15]

External links

• EUROTAB (EPO web site)

Notes and References

1. Susana Borrás, The governance of the European patent system: effective and legitimate?, Economy and Society, Volume 35, Number 4, November 2006, pp. 594-610(17), (Publisher: Routledge).
2. http://www.wmitchell.edu/lawreview/Volume32/Issue4/14PCTTranscript.pdf 2006 Patent Cooperation Treaty Conference: Transcript of Proceedings
3. Council of Europe Staff, Council of Europe, P Leuprecht, J Schwietzke, European Yearbook 1994, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1996, page 19,
4. Web site: Agendas and minutes. European Patent Office. July 21, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120921153941/http://www.epo.org/about-us/office/eurotab/agenda.html. 2012-09-21. dead.
5. European Patent Office, CA/PL 7/99, Revision of the EPC: Articles 52(4) and 54(5), 1999.
6. [Official Journal of the European Patent Office|Official Journal of the EPO]
7. European Patent Office web site, EPO Annual Report 1998, International affairs. Consulted on March 21, 2008.
8. Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas,Memoria de Actividades. Report on the Activities, pages 44-45 (2.3.1. EUROTAB Meeting in Madrid), 2001.
9. [World Intellectual Property Organization]
10. http://www.hpo.hu/letolt/Eves_jelentes_2004.pdf Hungary Patent Office, Annual Report 2004
11. European Patent Office web site, EPO Annual Report 2005, Developments in the European patent system . Consulted on March 21, 2008.
12. Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) web site, Eurotab 2006, Announcements, June 9, 2006. Consulted on March 21, 2008.
13. http://www.european-patent-office.org/epo/pubs/oj008/04_08/04_cal8.pdf Calendar of events
14. epi web site, Calendar of events - 2009. Consulted on April 13, 2009.
15. Web site: Announcements. European Patent Office. July 21, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120921153941/http://www.epo.org/about-us/office/eurotab/agenda.html. 2012-09-21. dead.