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21 September 2018Patents

French IP director confirms EPO vice president application

The director of IP at France’s National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), Philippe Cadre, has confirmed he has applied for a vice president position at the European Patent Office (EPO).

On October 11, the EPO’s 38 member states will elect three new vice presidents, one of whom will be responsible for the patent-granting process. The role is currently held by Alberto Casado Cerviño.

Cadre, who works under INPI’s director-general Pascal Faure, told WIPR it is the “fervent wish” of the French government that a French national should hold the patent-granting position because of INPI’s experience in handling some of the core challenges facing the EPO.

In order to apply for an EPO vice president role, candidates must have been officially selected by their member state. Cadre was chosen by France’s minister of the economy and finance, Bruno Le Maire.

The challenges raised by Cadre include “an ecosystem that will be strongly affected by artificial intelligence, big data and the blockchain, and an expected rise in Chinese patents”. He also highlighted a “breakdown in social dialogue” as a problem.

Over the past few years, tensions between EPO staff and management have resulted in protests and strikes; in June, the International Labour Organization’s Administrative Tribunal reversed the downgrading of one staff member and reinstated another.

Cadre would leave his current position if elected and would report to António Campinos, who started as EPO president in July after taking over from Benoît Battistelli.

Campinos, who is Portuguese, replaced French national Battistelli, and Cadre added that he is concerned about France losing its influence at the top table of the office.

“During the previous presidency of the EPO, France was careful not to present any candidate to other positions. Now, with the change of president, if France is not represented in the executive body, it will be totally absent from the challenges at the EPO,” he said.

Asked about the main responsibilities of the patent-granting role, Cadre highlighted the efficient functioning of the unitary patent, the launch of which has been delayed by a constitutional case in Germany.

“It will also be essential to promote the quality of work of the EPO’s patent examiners, to restore their confidence and to keep balance between cost efficiency and quality of the services delivered,” he said.

The IP office heads in the EPO’s member states will vote on the vice president roles, which last for five years and are based in The Hague and Munich. The two other vice president vacancies are for legal/international affairs and corporate services.

An EPO spokesperson said there was no information on other candidates.

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