40 years of epi Information – new INSIGHT epi podcast
The first issue of epi Information has been published 40 years ago. Since then, the magazine was published four times a year. Originally written on a typewriter, the layout of the magazine has changed over the years in line with technical and graphical possibilities.
epi Information has been providing epi members not only with a trusted source of information, but a vital means of collaboration to further the development of the profession.
To celebrate such a milestone an INSIGHT epi podcast episode was recorded. The podcast is a journey along epi’s timeline and discusses how epi has constantly evolved to meet the challenges of delivering the Institute’s core aims.
Co-founder of renowned German law firm Eisenführ Speiser, Dieter Speiser, who was a featured author in the very first issue of epi Information in 1984, is the ideal interview partner to take the audience back to the beginning. An epi member since its foundation in 1977, he can recall how epi communicated with its members from inception, and how epi Information sought to meet the need for a central source of information, transparency, and exchange amongst European patent attorneys.
Long before the advent of internet platforms, the Editorial Board invited constructive interaction from members via letters, which were regularly published in the journal, to provoke lively debate and discussion about controversial issues. In this way, the publication was utilized from the very start to give a voice to the epi members and actively shape the actions and decisions of the Council made on their behalf.
Of course, to spark such debate, it is imperative to provide the members with the most important information. This was no small task with a printed magazine. Content had to be compiled, typed, printed and distributed to the members spread across Europe. Long-time Head of General Management at the epi secretariat, Renate Schellenberg, who was responsible for the magazine in former times, also contributes to the podcast with an insight into the logistical challenges of this time.
The third interview partner is epi Committee Coordinator Sadia Liebig who supports the Editorial Committee since 2013 in producing every issue of epi Information. She reports from the substantial change when it was decided to publish the journal in electronic form on the epi website in 2016. The intention was to make the journal more interactive and attractive. A colorful layout has been implemented and categories were introduced to give the journal a clearer structure. Each cover page now features the artwork of an epi member who participated in the epi Artists Exhibition, to give the magazine an individual character and epi artists a platform to present their work to their colleagues. Sadia Liebig further explains how the content is selected and how members are motivated to make contributions, without which the publication’s role in the advancement of the profession would not be possible.
Current Chair of the Editorial Committee, Marc Nevant as the final speaker, takes the audience to the present day in all its digitalized glory. Not only are the contents now fully text searchable and directly accessible, but the digital relaunch of epi Information can be seen as a further development of the interactive nature of the magazine. It is considered how epi Information has and will continue to achieve its relevance in the internet age as the prominent source of information for the profession, despite the many alternative channels of communication.
It was clearly no underestimation when the then President of epi, Georges Bressard, referred to epi in the very first epi Information editorial as a “living organism in constant evolution.” The magazine has adapted constantly over the past 40 years to meet the everchanging demands and requirements of epi’s now over 14,000 members, and will continue to do so in the future. This is only possible through continued vibrant contributions from epi members. Happy 40th Anniversary readers!
The Editorial Committee would like to thank all epi members for their input over the last 40 years and looks forward to working with them in the future.
INSIGHT epi – THE PODCAST FOR EUROPEAN PATENT PROFESSIONALS is available via all common podcast platforms
(see https://patentepi.org/r/insight-epi)
