Report of the Harmonisation Committee
J. Brown (GB), Chair
The EPO last year actively pursued Substantive Patent Law Harmonisation (“SPLH”). The baton has now been picked up by Mr Julian Elbro of the UKIPO in his capacity as Chair of the Group B+ Working Group on SPLH.
Mr Elbro and his team are organising two virtual meetings with European user groups, the first one will be on19th March 2024 and the second meeting could be just before or just after the next epi Council Meeting (due to be held on 26th April 2024). The epi President has appointed myself (as leader of the delegation) and Filippo Santi (Secretary of epi Harmonisation Committee) to represent epi at the first meeting. It is expected that Mr Elbro will issue a questionnaire after the first meeting. The second meeting will consider the replies of the various European interested parties to the questionnaire.
The epi representatives at the first meeting will be bound by the previous decisions of the epi Council. If the second meeting is held before the next epi Council Meeting, the epi representatives at the second meeting will be in the same position as they were at the first meeting. However, if the second meeting is held after the next epi Council Meeting, then the epi Harmonisation Committee may need to put draft decision(s) to the next epi Council Meeting, depending of course on the papers made available for the second meeting and the views of the epi Harmonisation Committee on any proposals for SPLH made in the papers from the Chair of the Group B+ Working Group.
