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Report of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

M. Névant (FR), Chair

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee was set up by Council on 10th May 2025 at Vilnius (C99), the Terms of Reference of the Committee were approved, and the election of the members of the Committee was postponed until the 2025 autumn Council meeting:

Decision 7
Council agrees to set up a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEl) Committee.

Decision 8
Council approves the Terms of Reference of the DEl Committee.

Decision 9
Council agrees that the DEl Committee will start its work once the members have been elected at autumn Council Meeting 2025 with a term that will end at the autumn Council meeting 2026, and that the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group will continue their work until the election of the DEl Committee’s

22 candidates from 12 countries applied to become a member of the DEI Committee. Members of the Committee were elected at C100 (Nice). As a result of the election, the Committee is comprised of 12 members coming from 9 different countries (BG, CH, DE, FI, FR, GR, MC, PL, UK):

Decision 37
Council elects as full members of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee:

  • John Gray (GB)
  • Jonna Elisabeth Sahlin (FI)
  • Marc Nevant (FR)
  • Fatema Elyasali Sardharwala (GB)
  • Christian A. Mohr (DE)
  • Olga Rousseva Sirakova (BG)
  • Anniina Vattulainen Erkkilä (FI)
  • Vasiliki Kosti (GR)
  • Ewa Malewska (PL)
  • Tum Thach (MC)
  • Eric Cogniat (CH)
  • Monika Gabriele Honecker (DE)

The Committee held its kickoff (online) meeting on 1st December 2025 to elect officers:

  • Marc Névant (FR) was elected as Chair,
  • Anniina Vattulainen Erkkilä (FI) was elected as Vice-Chair,
  • Ewa Malewska (PL) was elected as Secretary.

During the meeting, the attention of the Committee was drawn to the fact that three former members of the D&I Working Group, namely Sally Bannan (UK), Nina Ferara (GB) and Cyra Nargolwalla (FR) had volunteered to become associate members of the Committee. It was generally agreed that it would be valuable, for the work of the Committee, to benefit from their expertise and motivation. Sally, Nina and Cyra were consequently appointed as associate members in accordance with Articles 18B.1 and 18B.4 g) By-Laws, for a term expiring on the day when members of the DEI Committee are elected during the 2026 autumn Council meeting.

The next meeting of the Committee took place on 9th January 2026 on the premises of the Secretariat. The meeting was attended by our President Peter Thomsen (for part of the meeting) and by our Secretary General Magdalena Augustyniak (as contact person from the Presidium).

Another (online) meeting took place on 10th March 2026 to which Alexandros Lioumbis (epi member of the second basket IPREE Working Group ) was invited to discuss possible amendments to Rule 17 IPREE (reasonable adjustments for candidates).

Another (online) meeting took place on 22nd April 2026, the content of which will be discussed in a next report.

Roadmap

The roadmap for 2026 was discussed during the January meeting, the key points are the following:

  • Implement the D&I policy within the various epi bodies. In particular reach out to the Professional Conduct Committee for possible amendments to the Code of Conduct
  • Promote diversity for the next election of committees, potentially through a podcast and then LinkedIn posts shortly after the May Council meeting
  • Increase awareness of how to become an associate member of Committees
  • Liaise with other committees to promote DEI
  • Translate the D&I policy into French and German so that the Council’s decision to adopt the policy is included in the Collection of Decisions
  • Encourage the epi Studentship Admissions Committee to increase awareness of the studentship program
  • Liaise with the epi members of the second basket IPREE Working Group
  • Explore possible collaboration with the EPO observatory on the occasion of the presentation of their study on “Advancing Women in STEM” (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics).

Actions

1/ A substantial part of the January meeting was spent on possible ways to implement the D&I policy in our daily work and practice. This would include a collaboration with the Professional Conduct Committee to discuss possible amendments to the Code of Conduct.

It was recognized that the D&I policy has broad implications which may go beyond the obligations set forth in the Code of Conduct. For example, the policy provides that epi shall treat its members, their clients and other stakeholders fairly and equitably, with respect, honesty and dignity. The policy further mentions that epi will support all its members and other stakeholders to be treated by its members and contractors in the same manner.

The policy therefore imposes obligations which are not limited to relations with clients, with other members, and with Offices and Courts, but also extend to all members of the IP community with whom representatives have a professional relationship, including staff members.

2/ In addition to the point mentioned just above, the following actions have already been taken as of the date this report is being written.

  • Members of the Committee (Fatema Sardharwala, Gabriele Honecker, Marc Névant) contributed to an Insight epi podcast released on 25 February 2026 (“Meet the DEI Committee”) to present the Committee and explore what Diversity, Equity & Inclusion means for epi and the profession.
  • Members of the Committee (Nina Ferara, Marc Névant) contributed to an Insight epi podcast released on 11 March 2026 (“Women in IP”) in collaboration with Victor Arribas, Stream Leader for Diversity and Transformation at the EPO’s Observatory on Patents and Technology, to discuss the findings of the report “Advancing Women in STEM” published by the EPO.
  • An article by Nina Ferara (“Give to Gain: Unlocking the Full Potential of Women and IP ») was published in epi Information 1/26 on the occasion of the 115th anniversary of the International Women’s Day.
  • A Working Group has been established during the 11th March meeting to work with the second basket IPREE Working Group on amendments to Rule 17 IPREE.
  • A translation of the D&I policy into French of German has been forwarded to the Legal Advisor for incorporation of the policy into the Collection of Decisions.

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