CA/44/19 Orig.: en , 08.03.2019

SUBJECT: President's activities report

SUBMITTED BY: President of the European Office

ADDRESSEES: Administrative Council (for information)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Subject Page

I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. PERFORMANCE OF THE PATENT GRANTING PROCESS 2 A. WORKLOAD AND PRODUCTION 2 a) Search, examination and opposition 7 b) Early Certainty timeliness 8 B. QUALITY 9 a) User satisfaction 10 b) Quality indicators 11 c) Quality action plans 12 d) Quality management system 14 e) Asian documentation 18 f) Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) 18 g) Patent procedures management documented by QMS 21 h) Streamlining practices and procedures 21 C. RELATIONS WITH USERS 26 a) User support 27 b) User events 27 c) Praktika Extern 2018 28 d) Pan-European Seal Programme 29 e) User feedback 30 f) Communication with applicants 31 III. SOCIAL MATTERS 32 A. SOCIAL DIALOGUE 32 a) Outcomes of discussions with social partners 32 b) Continuous dialogue with staff 33 c) Internal justice system 33 B. RECRUITMENT AND WORKFORCE PLANNING 35 IV. IT AND AUTOMATION PROJECTS 37 A. ITR DELIVERIES FOR THE PGP AND KMS 37 a) Delivering the digital transformation agenda 37 b) Improvements to current tools 38

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B. DELIVERIES FOR OTHER AREAS 38 C. IT AUDIT 39 V. BUILDINGS 39 A. NEW MAIN THE HAGUE 39 B. OTHER BUILDING PROJECTS 40 VI. EPN 41 A. CO-OPERATION WITH MEMBER STATES 41 B. EUROPEAN PATENT ACADEMY 42 C. CO-OPERATION WITH EUIPO 43 D. REPRESENTATION BEFORE THE EPO 43 E. EUROPEAN PATENT REGISTER 44 F. PATENT INFORMATION 45 G. EPO-CPVO CO-OPERATION 46 VII. EPO AS GLOBAL PLAYER 46 A. BILATERAL RELATIONS 46 B. IP5 CO-OPERATION 48 C. STRENGTHENING THE PCT 49 D. SUBSTANTIVE PATENT LAW HARMONISATION 51 VIII. /UNIFIED PATENT COURT 51 IX. EPO AND THE SOCIETY 52 A. EUROPEAN INVENTOR AWARD 52 B. NEW MAIN BUILDING INAUGURATION 53 C. REPORT ON AND SELF DRIVING VEHICLES 53 D. SENSITIVE CASES IN PHARMA AND BIOTECHNOLOGY 54 X. RECOMMENDATION FOR PUBLICATION 54

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I. INTRODUCTION

To improve transparency and enhance the reporting of Office activities to the Council, a comprehensive overview of the previous year is presented to each March meeting of the Council. This report offers a comprehensive account of activities in 2018.

The key elements of the report can be summarised as followed:

 Preparation of the EPO Strategic Plan for the period 2019-2023: the SP2023 will cover the patent granting process, the Office's quality policy, its working environment, European and international co-operation, and many other areas. Transparency and commitment will feature highly.

A comprehensive consultation process was launched in Q4 2018 to engage with various stakeholders and lay a solid foundation for SP 2023. The EPO member states, many partner IP offices worldwide, other international organisations like the WIPO, EU Commission, EUIPO, and several user associations were invited to provide input.

Internally, the Office started preparing a general staff survey scheduled for Q1 2019.The President also met several staff members in one-to-one meetings (over 700 by the end of December 2018). Several meetings also took place between the President, the management, staff representatives and the two trade unions, SUEPO and FFPE. Finally, an open online consultation primarily targeting the public and society at large will be launched in January 2019.

In the areas of IT and Finance that are particularly crucial to the efficiency and sustainability of the Office, external consultants were commissioned to produce an audit report and study that will provide fact-based input for internal debates.

 Patent granting process: The number of patent applications continued to increase during the first seven months of 2018 (174 317; +4.6% over 2017), hitting an all-time high. The production of searches, examinations and oppositions increased by 3.9% for the same period. This helped to further improve timeliness and reduce backlogs (-7.8%).

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 Social dialogue: there was a special focus on meeting staff, staff representatives and trade unionists, creating opportunities to address many topics. Additional information on the outcomes of selected internal management committees was also published internally to offer deeper insights into reasons for the Office's actions and projects.

 Buildings: After the successful official inauguration of the New Main building in The Hague at the end of June 2018, in the presence of the King of the , a special event was organised for EPO staff in early September to mark the start of the move into the new building, which continued until the end of October. The Office also conducted an evaluation of wear and tear in the buildings at its other sites to assess future refurbishment requirements. The first general orientations presented by the Office were approved by the Council in December 2018.

 IT: The Office continued to improve its knowledge management tools, specifically with enriched databases and new functionalities. A successful adaptation to the new IT revolution based on artificial intelligence is paramount to the future efficiency of the Office. Although there were some solid achievements in 2018, the plan to create a fully-digitalised back office faced significant delay and delivery issues. An audit report by an external consultant to be finalised in January 2019 will help us to decide the best way forward.

II. PERFORMANCE OF THE PATENT GRANTING PROCESS

A. WORKLOAD AND PRODUCTION

In 2018, 174 317 European patent applications (European direct applications filed in 2018 and PCT applications entering the European regional phase in 2018) were recorded. This represents a 4.6% increase over the corresponding figure for 2017.

Growth in Euro-direct applications was stronger than expected (71 996; +5.6% vs 2017).

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EPO Applications Budget 169 000 180 000 165 600 160 000 159 300 160 000

140 000

120 000

100 000 166 594 174 317 80 000 (+4.6%) 60 000

40 000

20 000

0 2015 2016 2017 2018

While non-divisional applications grew by 3.5%, divisional applications increased by 21% versus 2017. Divisional applications accounted for 29% of growth in applications in 2018. The increase in divisional applications has been particularly marked since 2015:

+4.6% 174 317 160 211 166 594 153 035 159 087

+ 3.5%

+ 21% 4.3% 4.6% 5.7% 6.4% 7.4%

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

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In 2018, the total incoming search, examination and opposition workload (404 874) increased by 3.7% compared to 2017. More specifically, the Office received 237 663 search requests (+4.2%), as well as 167 211 requests for European examination/opposition (+3.7%).

Procedure Received in 2018 Compared to actual Compared to 2017 budget 2018 Search 237 663 +4.2% +1.2% Exam/Oppo 167 211 +2.9% +3.7% Total 404 874 +3.7% +1.0%

Provisionally and for the first eleven months of 2018, the share of the EPO as ISA was 32.8% (33.4%; -1.8% in 2017) despite an increase in volume (74 087; +2.3%). This was mostly due to the growing market share of the China National Intellectual Property Administration as a PCT authority.

In 2018, the examiners' output reached 430 418 search, examination and opposition products, marking a 3.9% increase versus 2017.

While the number of full-time equivalent staff (FTEs) has remained stable since 2015, the number of products produced by each FTE is rising, which is a clear marker of the Office's improved efficiency.

Paid man years Products per FTE (FTE) 7 000 70 67.0 6 900 68 64.5 66 6 800 64 61.9 6 700 62 6 600 60 56.5 58 6 500 56 6 400 6 472 6 455 54 6 429 6 419 6 420 6 436 6 401 6 300 52 50 6 200 49.8 48 48.4 49.0 6 100 46 6 000 44 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Paid man years, FTE SEO Products / FTE

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Published patents

In 2018 the EPO published 127 625 European patents, which is 20.8% more than in 2017.

EPO Published Patents Budget 105 000 130 000 120 000 105 635 110 000 95 940 100 000 90 000 80 000 68 421 70 000 60 000 127 625 50 000 105 635 (+20.8%) 40 000 30 000 20 000 10 000 0 2015 2016 2017 2018

Direct grants

In 2018, the share of direct grants, or those with no intermediary examination communication before grant, was lower than in 2017 (45% versus 48%)

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Time to patent publication

The time elapsed is measured from the date of entry into the European grant procedure up until the publication date of the patent. For the European direct application this is the date of receipt; while for the Euro-PCT application, it represents the date of entry into the regional phase. The time elapsed measures the duration of the European grant procedure completed during each reporting period.

The increase in the time to publication up to 2016 reflects the fact that, as of 2015, the EPO started dealing with older files in its examination stock.

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General EPO Statistics 01 February 2019

Difference 2017 2018 2018/2017 in %

1 Total European patent applications – December 166 594 174 317 4.6%

2a Direct European applications – December 68 159 71 996 5.6%

2b PCT applications entering the regional phase – December 98 435 102 321 3.9%

3 Searches carried out (Examiner products) – December 247 503 233 126 -5.8%

- of which European + supplementary + other 163 751 148 902 -9.1% - of which International PCT searches carried out 83 752 84 224 0.6%

4 European examinations carried out (Examiner products) – December 153 858 185 364 20.5%

5 International preliminary examinations carried out (Examiner products) – December 8 836 7 867 -11.0%

6 Oppositions (Examiner products) – December 4 072 4 061 -0.3%

7 Total Examiner Products DG 1 – December 414 269 430 418 3.9%

8 SEO Time (Search, Examination, Opposition in '000 days) – December 768.2 780.8 1.6%

9 Patents published – December 105 635 127 625 20.8%

10 Pending EPO SEO workload expressed in months of output – December 13.9 12.0 -13.4%

All production figures (items 3 to 7) are based on counts of examiner products.

Pendency (items 10) is based on stock at directorate level and production at directorate level (finished cases). a) Search, examination and opposition

In 2018, examiner output reached 430 418 search, examination and opposition products, which was 3.9% higher than the corresponding figure for 2017. It represents 16 149 additional products compared to 2017.

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The search stock represents 3.2 months of work while search production tracks the level of incoming searches. This has allowed examiners to focus more on examination and to tackle the backlog. Search production fell by 5.8% as a result, while examination production increased by 18.8% compared to 2017. The workload in opposition represents 15.5 months of work, i.e. close to the stock level of 15 months of work that will allow the EPO to achieve its opposition timeliness objective in 2020.

The decreasing trend in total stock continued, ending 2018 -7.8% compared to the same period of 2017. In particular, after the reduction and stabilisation of the search stock, examination stock ended the year -8.8% lower compared to end of 2017. The overall pending stock of the EPO at the end of 2018 represents 18.3 months of activity.

26.6 18.3 27

-31%

30 000

0

0 - 30 000 Dec-2010 Dec-2011 Dec-2012 Dec-2013 Dec-2014 Dec-2015 Dec-2016 Dec-2017 Dec-2018

Difference Finished/New orders Stock expressed in months of activity b) Early Certainty timeliness

In 2018, the average length of time for completion of a search at the EPO was 4.4 months from the date of receipt of the file (4.8 months in 2017).

The average length of time for issuing a notification of the intention to grant (IGRA) was 22.3 months from the date on which the examination started (22.1 months in 2017). Examination timeliness did not improve in 2018 due to targeted processing of the backlog of the oldest files.

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The average length of time for an opposition division to issue its decision was 18.6 months from the expiry of the opposition period (22.3 months in 2017).

Improvements following the launch of Early Certainty from Search have successfully brought the search timeliness situation under control. The EPO also expects to achieve its opposition timeliness objectives in 2020. Longer-term improvements can be expected in examination, as we process the backlog of old files.

B. QUALITY

The high quality of the EPO's products and services is essential for our applicants, third parties and society at large. This means that excellence must remain the Office's top priority.

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a) User satisfaction

External perceptions of the quality of the services provided by the EPO remains at a very high level. This is shown by the user satisfaction surveys carried out by an independent market research company (BERENT Deutschland GmbH) on behalf of the EPO. At the December 2018 Council meeting, BERENT presented the results of the user satisfaction surveys conducted in 2018 on the basis of over 5 000 interviews. The surveys also identified some areas where more improvements could still be made.

The bar chart below summarises the key takeaways from the presentation (CA/104/18).

Satisfaction Satisfaction Search Examination

4 3 3 4 4 4

15 14 13 21 20 19

81 83 84 75 76 77

2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018

Base: share of voice, "no answer" values (very) dissatisfied eliminated. neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (very) satisfied

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Overall Satisfaction Satisfaction in Opposition User Contact with EPO

4 5 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 21 21 23

85 89 85 74 71 69

2016* 2017* 2018 2016 2017 2018

(very) dissatisfied (very) dissatisfied neither satisfied nor dissatisfied neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (very) satisfied (very) satisfied

*Pilot surveys, comparability is limited. Base: share of voice, "no answer" values eliminated. Base: share of voice, "no answer" values eliminated. b) Quality indicators

The EPO's Principal Directorate Internal Audit and Oversight produces four yearly reports focusing on the most important elements of our patent examination process. These reports track compliance rates for a sample of products:

 Classification: a random check of a sample of documents classified during the first half of 2018 revealed a 96% compliance rate, which was similar to the result for 2017.

 Search: 394 search reports from 2017 and 2018 were checked randomly and the compliance rate reached 94.6%, which is similar to that of previous years.

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 Grant: 750 European patent applications for which the communication of intention to grant was to be sent were audited on a rolling 12-month basis from 01.10.2017 to 30.09.2018. The compliance rate reached of 76.6% was lower than in 2017 (84.7%), while the primary non-compliance issues concerned the lack of clarity of the claims (Article 84 EPC). The grants covered by the sample were related to applications filed between 1999 and 2017, with most of the search reports issued between 2009 and 2014 (39%) and in 2015-2016 (40%). This very large time span reflects on-going clearance of the old backlog.

 Opposition: 90 opposition cases filed from July 2016 until January 2018 were audited. In 89 cases, the decisions were considered well-grounded in substance.

The full set of data will be published in the Annual Quality Report 2018 to be presented to the Council in June 2019.

In 2019 there are plans to boost investment in quality checks, notably by increasing the number of staff conducting quality controls, expanding the size of the samples and developing new types of quality checks focused on sensitive areas (e.g. direct grants). c) Quality action plans

Quality action plans are part of the EPO's continual improvement principle and are approved at the annual quality review meeting by the President. Each year, a diverse and broad set of quality data is compiled into integrated quality presentations and discussed with management, who identify risks and areas for action. These risks and action items are subsequently summarised in an overall quality action plan for DG 1 and categorised for the stages of the patent process (pre-classification, classification, search, examination, grant, publication, opposition). Each sector implements the DG 1 quality actions. In addition, each sector defines and manages its own sector-level quality initiatives to deal with domain-specific risks.

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In 2018, several initiatives made progress towards their resolution, including:

 Improved coverage of dependent claims: this was achieved through a combination of awareness campaigns, e-learning, and by setting individual quality objectives. This improvement was confirmed by a targeted operational check, and was also appreciated by users, as revealed by the user satisfaction survey

 Timeliness of opposition: thanks to the creation of opposition directorates, and a more harmonised application of best practices, the EPO outperformed its 2018 objective, creating a solid base for reaching its next target in 15 months

 Improvement in drafting the votum through the introduction of a mandatory template. Targeted operational checks confirmed the correct implementation of the measure.

 Greater consistency in treatment of non-unity cases via e-learning and changes to the guidelines. Targeted operational checks confirmed the effective implementation of the measure

 Timeliness in dealing with user requests via customer relations management has visibly improved thanks to various initiatives implemented at different levels

 Specific actions were initiated to ensure that corrections and/or amendments made after an Intention to grant communication is issued are dealt with in compliance with the guidelines

 e-learning modules on handling fees and refunds were launched to enhance correct handling.

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Of the 72 quality initiatives currently open in the system, 35 derive from the 2018 quality action plan. The procedure groups are shown in the table below:

Procedure group Receiving and formal examination 3 Classification 2 Search 11 Examination 15 Opposition, limitation, revocation 9 Patent information and publication 3 QMS processes 16 Support processes and infrastructure 6 User satisfaction and customer focus 6 d) Quality management system

(i) ISO 9001:2015 certification cycle

The certification cycle of the quality management system (QMS) according to ISO 9001:2015 continued in 2018 with a surveillance audit. The external auditors performed their review of the QMS on 8-12 October 2018 in Munich and The Hague. The external auditors found no evidence of non-conformities and once again highlighted the very good performance of our QMS. They also came up with some ideas for improvements, which have been integrated into in our continuous improvement system for evaluation and action.

(ii) Extension of certification towards an Integrated Management System (IMS)

The idea of extending the scope of the QMS according to ISO 9001:2015 to the entire Office and, where applicable, to implement other management standards was discussed at the interim quality review meeting in July 2018.

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Currently the EPO has two separate management systems in place and a third is currently in the initial implementation phase, namely:

 The quality management system (QMS) covering the patent process, ISO 9001:2015 certified in 2017,

 The environmental management system (EMAS/ISO 14001), re-certified in 2018

At the moment, the QMS and EMAS are managed independently from each other. In November it was decided to seek ISO 45001:2018 for the occupational health and safety management system. This will be the EPO's third independently managed system.

These different systems may be incorporated into an integrated management system to maximise their benefits while minimising the administrative work involved.

(iii) Operational quality control (OQC) in formalities

On completion of quality controls in 2018, the previous process of operational quality control in formalities was phased out. It had served its purpose, highlighting some non-conformities e.g. in the area of PCT Receiving Office, PCT Chapter II and early entry into the European phase before the EPO by closing the feedback loop to address the issues found in the directorates.

The new Operational Quality Control for Formalities Officers (OQC-FO) procedure was successfully launched on 14 January 2019. This concept is more closely aligned with the structure of DG 1 and is supported by a new tool. It has the following key aspects:

 Different types of checks reflecting the views of external users on products delivered, as well as internal aspects of individual tasks and procedures relating to recent daily production. Where possible, the checks are implemented as "in process" checks, so that non-conformities can be corrected before sending out the product.

 Bi-weekly checks of smaller numbers of files, which have a lower impact on available capacity than quarterly checks.

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 Higher flexibility due to a setup with six local sector pools of quality officers who can deputise for each other.

 A total of around 13 000 files to be checked per year. This is a decrease in numbers and time invested, but still provides statistically significant results focused on key problem areas.

 Supports harmonisation of formalities work within DG 1 between the sectors.

 The new OQC-FO is deployed using new QMS software (Intelex), which manages product audits, quality initiatives, customer complaints and internal QMS audits. This platform went into production in December 2018 and is being gradually extended to all relevant areas.

(iv) Conformity assurance for search and examination (CASE)

The sampling of search files for CASE checks is based on actual search production in a directorate. The sampling rate is currently set at 4%, which means that on average every 25th search is checked, representing a total of over 9 000 search files in one year. Sampling is random, meaning that between one and four samples per examiner are taken in one year. The "CASE for Grant" procedure has not changed. All grant proposals are checked, representing a total of almost 150 000 checks per year.

The CASE tool was continuously improved throughout 2018. In April 2018, a more efficient sign-off procedure for the chairperson and the line manager was introduced. In September 2018, a rebuilt CASE tool was deployed with more detailed questionnaires. Non-conformities are now recorded in a more detailed and harmonised manner, facilitating the identification of systematic quality issues. Several measures have been taken to enhance the use of CASE, including the organisation of a "CASE Fair" at all sites in early 2018, which was visited by several hundred staff members.

Improvements in the tool, greater awareness on the part of users and harmonisation of the data collected will facilitate a detailed analysis of the results, leading to effective learning activities in 2019.

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(v) Changes in classification and opposition quality controls

Classification and search management (CLASMA) went into production in April 2018. CLASMA incorporates the:

 various classification workflows

 correct management of the classification workload and

 management of quality checks by examiners in their role as quality nominees.

The "Quality control in opposition" project was launched in January 2018 and went into production in mid-February 2019. It will provide meaningful and reliable data on the products and services of the opposition process within each DG 1 sector by checking a significant sample of oral proceedings' minutes and decisions. "Quality officers", with strong legal knowledge and experience in opposition, will perform the checks. The goal is to provide a solid basis for continual improvement by identifying potential quality issues.

(vi) Data analysis of quality issues

Data analyses are performed on an ad hoc basis to support quality activities. They are conducted in response to complaints, to identify quality issues and to monitor the effectiveness of quality initiatives. In 2018, detailed studies looked at a number of aspects of examiner practice, i.e. search strategies, addition of citations in examination, grounds for opposition, grant-stage amendments made by examiners.

These studies provide information that feeds into decisions over a course of action. For instance, the latter study on grant-stage amendments, triggered by complaints, prompted the EPO to dispatch instructions to examiners reminding them of correct practice. Since then, the number of complaints about this issue has decreased.

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e) Asian documentation

Quality Management, with the support of the DG 1 Quality Committee, introduced field-specific Asian documentation search recommendations in 2017. The subsequent effectiveness evaluation revealed that this quality initiative was very positive. In about 35% of searches in Q4 2017 – Q1 2018 examiners used the International Patent Classification (IPC) – up 4 percentage points from a year ago – and in 20% of searches examiners used Japanese classes (FI/F-term; up 2 percentage points).

A broadening of text- and classification-based search strategies has had a positive effect on the citation of Asian-only patent families, which make up 54% of all patent families. The figure shows the longer-term trend in citing Asian patent documentation.

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0% 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Percentage of search reports (SRs) with an Asian-only citation Percentage of SRs with an XIYEP-category Asian-only citation

Figure: Trend in citation of Asian patent documentation from 2011 to 2018 f) Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)

The CPC was launched on 1 January 2013 as a bilateral EPO-USPTO initiative.

Since then, the national offices of 16 EPO member states (AT, CH, CZ, DK, EE, ES, FI, GB, GR, HU, NL, NO, PL, PT, SE, TR) have expressed their intention to adopt the CPC as their internal classification scheme. For nine of them (AT, CH, ES, FI, GB, GR, NO, PT, SE), CPC data is delivered to the EPO and uploaded into the EPO's databases.

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In September 2018 the EPO signed a CPC Memorandum of Understanding with IP Australia and the USPTO signed an agreement with INAPI Chile. To date 11 non-member states have formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding on CPC (AR, AU, BR, CA, CL, CN, EA, IL, KR, MX and RU), five of which are already classifying in CPC and delivering CPC data to the EPO (BR, CN, KR, MX and RU).

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA, formerly SIPO) started delivering CPC data in July 2015. In September 2017, it delivered a first batch of CPC data for newly filed patent applications published between 1 January 2015 and 15 July 2017. It is now delivering CPC data on a bi-monthly basis in production mode. By 30 December 2018, it had delivered CPC data on around 3.1 million publications for uploading to the EPO's databases. KIPO started delivering CPC data in August 2015 and has already provided CPC classifications for over 1.5 million publications to date.

There are now 29 patent organisations worldwide in the CPC, including the EPO and the USPTO, 14 of which are delivering CPC data to the EPO on a regular basis. CPC governance solely remains with the EPO and USPTO. Once the CPC data is stored in the EPO's databases, it can be used for searching by EPO examiners, all EPOQUE Net users and the public at large via Espacenet and other EPO patent information products such as DocDB XML. Three aspects are considered in the implementation of CPC at national offices: CPC training, CPC quality measures and IT support for the exchange of CPC data:

 A three-week CPC field-specific training session was held at the EPO in Munich in April/May 2018 for a group of CNIPA and KIPO examiners and classifiers, who were trained in the CPC in 15 technical areas of high relevance. A similar session was organised at the EPO in The Hague in September 2018, which covered another 15 technical fields.

 In June 2018 a three-day collective field-specific training session was organised for national offices in The Hague, providing CPC classification training in 15 different technical fields. The course's presentations, which included theory and examples, have been recorded and made available to the CPC user community on the European Patent Academy's web page and on www.cpcinfo.org.

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 In 2018, we also hosted eight exchange visits from USPTO examiners and supervisors at the EPO in The Hague, Munich and Berlin aimed at giving them insights into classification practice at the EPO, and to make progress in various CPC revision projects. Similar events are planned for 2019, including a collective CPC field-specific training event at the EPO in Munich on 4- 6 June 2019. More information can be obtained by contacting the EPO at its dedicated CPC email address ([email protected]).

 Quality measures are put in place to ensure that offices use the CPC in the same way. Field-specific feedback is provided to the offices following training sessions. The classifications provided by offices are also automatically compared with those given by EPO examiners. The resulting analysis is shared with each office separately.

 Currently, only the EPO processes CPC data from national offices. CPC data from 14 national offices is now uploaded to the EPO's database (DocDB) in production mode.

In a world of growing digitalisation, the CPC is now also available as open linked data on the EPO's website, as well as on www.cpcinfo.org, and complements the set of CPC products made available to our users. The EPO plays an active role in the IP5 Working Group on Classification (IP5 Working Group 1), which is working on two major projects:

 Harmonising the CPC, JPO's FI/F-terms and the International Patent Classification (IPC)

 Developing classification schemes for emerging technologies, e.g. Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, blockchain, , big data, intelligent robots, cloud computing, smart grids, data mining, virtual reality systems or pattern recognition.

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The EPO is also still taking part in the work of WIPO's IPC Committee of Experts and Revision Working Group for bringing harmonised classifications schemes into the IPC. g) Patent procedures management documented by QMS

The annual cycle of internal QMS audits has resulted in ISO-compliant documentation of the process for patent procedures management. This process comprises defining and drafting guidelines and instructions for staff performing substantive and formal work in the patent granting process involving consultation between DG 1 and DG 5 bodies. QMS Process 3.10 "Patent procedures management" will be included in the quality manual and process documentation to enhance the transparency and understanding of this function, as well as to improve and clarify management responsibility for this task. h) Streamlining practices and procedures

Further measures to streamline and improve the quality and efficiency of examination, opposition and administrative procedures were implemented in 2018. The EPO took advantage of the recent reorganisation of operations to identify and remove unnecessary delays between internal steps in the patent grant process. Opposition administrative processes are being improved to streamline paper flows and remove paper processing where possible. Facilities for holding oral proceedings in examination via videoconferencing are being expanded to roughly double the available capacity and will be based on 22 permanent rooms running the Skype for Business collaboration tool. These facilities will be fully functional from 1 January 2019.

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 Harmonisation in ICT

With the growing influence of ICT-driven innovation – the so-called fourth industrial revolution or "I4.0" – the Office must be in a position to deliver stable and consistent practice in all technical domains that are developing and applying ICT technology, especially with regard to applications comprising software or CII (Computer-Implemented Inventions). At the EPO, efficient management of ICT issues is supported not only by the new DG 1 structure mirroring the industrial reality of I4.0, but also through a number of special initiatives. A key initiative is the DG 1/DG 5 CII working group, which carries out an annual revision of the CII content of the guidelines and now plays a leading role in CII presentational, training and development issues. The November 2018 revision of the guidelines includes an online index for CII and hyperlinks to sections of the Guidelines for Examination in the EPO that are particularly useful for the search and examination of CIIs.

EPC Guidelines on CII

This latest edition of the guidelines provides specific guidance on a number of CII issues. Revisions relating to the patentability of artificial intelligence at the EPO were welcomed by patent professionals.

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While core I4.0 and CII technology resides in the ICT sector, it is rapidly becoming a common feature in the application domains dealt with by sectors HBC and M&M. As such, the need for examiners to deal with this legally and technically complex subject-matter, to ensure adherence to the relevant CII content of the guidelines and to promote the convergence of related examination practices is not only co-ordinated by the main CII committee, but has also become part of the daily work of all three sectors.

As an example of initiatives taken, the ICT sector ran a two-day procedural harmonisation day in September 2018. Attended by an expert from every ICT directorate, the event focused on identifying areas in which practices require further harmonisation, and defining the actions required. In the HBC sector a CII board was set up to co-ordinate all CII issues within the sector and collaborate with the central CII working group. The board has built up a network of contact persons covering all directorates and a group of CII experts (second-line file support). The contact persons are consulted as first-line file support by examiners from their directorates regarding everyday work with CII files and can contact the second-line file support for in-depth advice. An intranet page with links and material, including CII presentations and practical help in the drafting of communications, provides further support. Webinars and presentations highlighting the special features of CII in HBC were organised for applicants and representatives. Similar procedure was adopted in the M&M sector.

In 2018 the Office also focused on two very specific challenges arising from I4.0 – artificial intelligence and blockchain. Adapting global patent systems designed for hardware innovation to the virtual world of software innovation has been a long and difficult process, but Europe and the EPO have successfully developed a stable approach to the patenting of computer-implemented inventions backed up by a solid body of case law.

Artificial intelligence and blockchain, facilitated by the Internet of Things and big data, are nevertheless taking software innovation to a higher level, which is posing far greater challenges to the patent system. To better understand and prepare for these challenges, the EPO held the first-ever global conferences on "Patenting artificial intelligence" and "Patenting blockchain", in May and December 2018 respectively. Each conference was attended by around 400 stakeholders and was preceded by scoping workshops, which helped to identify key themes and shape the conference agendas. This focus on ICT technology was intensified at the Sixth Indo-European ICT Conference on "Global patenting of emerging technologies" held in December in Munich.

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Internally, staff are kept informed via "Industry 4.0 Roadshows", the first of which took place in November in Berlin, with The Hague and Munich following in early 2019. At an EU level the EPO has been assigned an observer position on the "High-Level Group on Artificial Intelligence". In the field of standards, DG 1 supported DG 5 with specialist knowledge on ICT standards for meetings both at a European (ETSI, CEN-CENELEC, EU Commission) and an international level (WIPO, Trilateral, IP5).

 Harmonisation in Health, Biotechnology and Chemistry

– Revision of the Guidelines for Examination

After November 2016, 180 patent applications and five patents under opposition dealing with plant and animals were stayed awaiting the decision of the AC. The examination of all the affected applications and opposition proceedings has now been resumed after the entry into force of Rule 28(2) and Rule 27(b) EPC on 1 July 2017. The HBC sector is making all necessary efforts to harmonise its examination practice with respect to inventions concerning plants and animals, following the entry into force of amended Rules 27(b) and 28(2) EPC on 1 July 20171.

In addition to the revised Guidelines for Examination of November 2018, internal instructions have been developed and have been applied since January 2018. Training and awareness programmes have been put in place to ensure that all examiners potentially involved with claims relating to plants or animals are aware of the relevant instructions, even in areas outside biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. A strict quality control system is in place involving the examining division, the director(s), and a specialised team that is performing additional checks for this kind of application.

A network of trained experts is in place across the EPO to deal with applications of a "sensitive" nature, either in the field of plant and animals, human embryonic stem cells, traditional knowledge, or other areas potentially conflicting with the ethical principles of Article 53 EPC.

1 The appeal case T 1063/18 in which a technical board of appeal held in oral proceedings on 5 December 2018 that Rule 28(2) EPC was in conflict with Article 53(b) EPC as interpreted by the Enlarged Board of Appeal in decisions G 2/12 and G 2/13 is not addressed here.

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– Co-operation agreement EPO-CPVO

The co-operation agreement between the CPVO (Community Plant Variety Office) and the EPO has been renewed for another three years. The development of a new internal database containing the CPVO plant variety documentation is particularly significant. The EPO has integrated a first set of about 6 840 CPVO variety applications (a total of 27 000 documents including technical questionnaires, variety descriptions and photos) into the new internal database. This database is now operational and all documents can be searched by EPO examiners. The documents concerned relate to the period between 2008 and 2018. The database will be regularly updated. It is a very useful addition to the existing documentation to assure high-quality searches in the area of plant biotechnology.

 Harmonisation in Mobility and Mechatronics

Mobility and Mechatronics is at the core of rapidly expanding disruptive technologies. These include green technologies like wind energy and hydro energy; autonomous transport; space technologies and connectivity, like satellites and navigation systems, which are supported by European policies to meet the Paris agreement 2015. With investment running into trillions of euros, the number of filings in this field is growing fast. On 6 November 2018, the Office released a study on self-driving vehicles (SDV) and patenting. The study revealed that the number of SDV-related European patent applications has grown by 330% over the past ten years, or 20 times faster than other technologies at the EPO. Europe is leading global innovation in this technology (37.2% of all patents related to SDV technologies issued between 2011 and 2017); ahead of the United States (33.7%). In Europe, is followed by and .

ICT companies are strong "new entrants" to this sector, and established car companies have also invested massively in ICT. The convergence between conventional technologies in mobility and IT is a game-changer for the established industry, as mobility innovations increasingly rely on software and artificial intelligence. On 26-27 September 2018, an EPO automotive and mobility seminar took place in Chicago, and a second event was held on 18 December in Munich. EPO examiners in M&M were trained in examining computer-implemented inventions throughout 2018.

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(i) Complaints

At the EPO, a complaint is defined as any feedback (written or oral) about a service or product that the complainant found to be unsatisfactory or below expectations in some way. The number of complaint tickets received by the EPO's complaint department is published on our website together with other KPIs. It is a figure that attracts a lot of public attention, since it provides an early indication of user satisfaction with our products and services.

In 2018, 384 complaint tickets were received by the EPO. These tickets can contain more than one issue. In 2018, complaint communications contained 1.46 issues on average and the total number of issues raised in complaints was 549. In 2018 an increase in examination-related complaints was partly due to greater importance attached to examination by the Office. Some examples of complaints include: the EPO acting as ISA issued a positive IPER and, upon entry into the European phase, a negative Article 94(3) EPC communication with new prior art; other offices found better prior art; oral proceedings schedule on official holidays.

C. RELATIONS WITH USERS

At the 20th meeting of SACEPO/WPR held in January 2019 we had a very constructive dialogue with users who supported abolishing postal advice of delivery and the current options for accelerating opposition proceedings. Similarly, discussions of proposals to simplify the proceedings revealed that the Office's aims and user suggestions are closely aligned.

An online user consultation on increased flexibility in the timing of the examination process was run between 19.11.2018 and 11.01.2019. The results were presented to the Committee on Patent Law in February. Over 600 users participated in the consultation and equal shares were in favour of and against a postponement system.

In January 2019 the EPO signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI) in Florida, USA. This agreement is aimed at developing joint training programmes, seminars and events for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), industry representatives, technology transfer experts, publicly funded research organisations, IP advisors, IP offices and government policymakers.

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This was followed by meetings with the Chief IP Officers from some of the largest US-based applicants at the EPO, the members of the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel (ACPC) who use the European patent system, including many of the EPO's top 100 US applicants, and with the AIPLA Board of Directors. These meetings afforded an opportunity to provide some insights into the EPO's strategy for the years ahead and gather feedback from users on what the EPO could do to better meet their needs.

In mid-March 2018 the Office held several meetings with the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI), the European Federation of Intellectual Property Agents in Industry (FEMIPI) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Key topics were the EPO's quality measures both at the examination and appeal levels, online consultation on increased flexibility in the timing of the examination process, and user input for the EPO Strategic Plan. a) User support

The increase in user-support enquiries (telephone calls, emails, forms to the EPO) seen in 2017 continued in 2018. First Line User Desk (1LUD) monitored 71 600 user enquiries by the end of December 2018, of which 90% was met. From these 71 600 user enquiries 57 884 were received as calls to the central service number, of which 93.52% were answered within 20 seconds. This figure is slightly lower than the KPI of 95% and was caused by outages of external online services, as well as an Office-wide three-day outage of the CRM system in recent months. Work is in progress to replace the current CRM system with a solution based on cutting-edge technology. b) User events

A plan was launched in 2018 to reach out to users (patent attorneys, paralegals, industry) with a view to increasing the quality of incoming applications. The plan was successfully implemented and feedback was positive, with users requesting more such events in the future. A total of 18 user days encompassing patent drafting, sectorial and paralegal events were held in Europe, USA and Japan in 2018 and they attracted 1 664 participants. Key account managers interacted with users in ten special workshops and in bilateral exchanges to support the users of EPO's online filing tools (Online Filing, Mailbox, smart cards, CMS, Online Fee Payment). Within the user engagement plan, 20 high-level incoming and outgoing visits were conducted focused on improving EPO services.

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In 2018 Examination Matters was an important meeting place for patent attorneys dealing with the EPO in the patent granting procedure. Examiners and practitioners provided insights into the mind of examiners and their day-to-day work. Interactive workshops in small groups offered over 150 patent attorneys an opportunity to conduct detailed discussions on relevant aspects of examination, to share day-to-day experiences and obtain immediate responses to their practical questions from EPO examiners and epi experts. c) Praktika Extern 2018

The Praktika Extern programme for internships in industry and patent attorney firms has been running since 2010. In 2018, as part of EPO's marketing and user- engagement strategy, 86 examiners from all technical sectors took part in the programme. The newly introduced concept offers the opportunity for newly trained examiners, with a minimum of four years' experience, to take part in the Praktika Extern programme. In 2018 the programme focused on quality, raising awareness of our core products and services, and listening to user needs.

Examiners, 78 of whom were selected for Europe and eight for the other IP5 locations, completed internships in the following countries: USA, Japan, China, Korea, , , Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Germany, , , , , , and . When the programme started in 2010, around 40 firms were involved. By 2018 this figure had grown to 230 firms.

After the internships have taken place, a questionnaire is sent out to all participating firms to collect valuable feedback. A consolidated analysis report is subsequently drawn up, summarising examiners' experiences with a view to continually improving our services and our collaboration with patent attorneys and industry.

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PRAKTIKA EXTERN EXAMINER PARTICIPATION 2010-2018

100

80

60

40

20 Numberofexaminers 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Year

Figure: Total number of examiners 2010-2018 = 393 d) Pan-European Seal Programme

As of September 2018 DG 1 received ten interns out of a total of 44 participants in the Pan-European Seal Programme. The programme is co-ordinated by DG 5's European Co-operation in collaboration with EUIPO and a number of European universities. The young graduates that joined DG 1 have completed technical studies in engineering or science and were placed in corresponding teams. After an intense six week training programme the interns are integrated into the team environment and acquire valuable work experience assisting experienced examiners in searching and examining patent applications. The programme is projected to expand in 2019 to accommodate roughly 20-30 interns in DG 1.

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e) User feedback

User feedback is a crucial element of the EPO's ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system (QMS) because it:

 generates a better understanding of user requirements

 assists informed decision-making processes and

 helps to identify improvement opportunities.

The topics raised are analysed together with internal feedback and data to allow the Office to take informed decisions about which preventive and/or corrective actions need to be taken. These actions may be of an internal nature, but may also relate to external communication.

Starting this year, the regular user satisfaction surveys, conducted by an external contractor on behalf of the EPO, take into account the new DG 1 structure. Telephone surveys on search and examination services keep the three-year cycle within the sector structure, allowing granularity and comparability with the previous cycle 2015-2017. Online surveys on formalities services are run annually, focusing on the formalities work that is now embedded in DG 1. The platform is also used to assess user satisfaction with user support and patent information services. Finally, annual telephone surveys on opposition services are now conducted in each sector.

To better understand the satisfaction levels and needs of non-European clients, a user survey of Chinese applicants was conducted in September 2018 by an external contractor, following on from the previous survey in 2016. The results offer a valuable overview of the filing strategy, service expectation and general satisfaction of Chinese applicants. In terms of satisfaction, certain areas improved compared to 2016, like search timeliness (66% in 2018 versus 55% or (very) satisfied in 2016). In other areas, like examination in general, user satisfaction dropped from 85% (very) satisfied and 0% (very) dissatisfied in 2016 to 83% (very) satisfied, but 10% (very) dissatisfied in 2018.

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f) Communication with applicants

The EPO communicates with applicants in numerous ways. It has a strong online presence, communicating via its website as well as on social media channels like YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. In addition, EPO staff members contribute articles to publications like user association journals, and senior managers occasionally give interviews to magazines, newspapers or high-profile websites.

In June 2018, the EPO published its second Quality Report. This detailed and comprehensive document covered a wide range of topics that are highly relevant to providing high-quality services and products like examiner training, user feedback, quality assurance and documentation. The feedback received by the EPO was generally positive. EPO website statistics show that the report was viewed online or downloaded over 5 000 times by users from more than 71 countries in the first seven months after its publication.

The EPO holds annual "partnership for quality" (PfQ) meetings with European, Asian and US user organisations (epi, BusinessEurope, AIPLA, IPO, JPAA, JIPA, PPAC and KINPA). The EPO also has a wide-ranging outreach programme that enables examiners and other staff to visit stakeholders to share information, gather feedback and learn about new technological innovations. As part of this programme, over 700 examiners visit users each year.

The SACEPO Working Party on Quality (set up in 2017) had its 2018 meeting in February last year at which a wide array of topics were addressed, ranging from the EPO's recent structural reorganisation to quality-improvement measures and efforts to improve timekeeping. A large share of the day was devoted to discussing points raised by the working party's external members and following up on actions resulting from the previous year's discussions. The latest next meeting took place on 7 February 2019.

Key account managers (KAM) are the direct interface for the top 600 filers in Europe. Their geographical scope is being gradually broadened to cover the US market, as well as to executing the EPO's marketing strategy.

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III. SOCIAL MATTERS

A. SOCIAL DIALOGUE

From an HR perspective, social dialogue and talent development are the two main pillars when it comes to the Office's strategic orientation for the next five years, which is embedded in the more transversal theme of "working conditions" at the Office. a) Outcomes of discussions with social partners

During the second half of 2018 and at the beginning of 2019, the EPO's President met with its social partners on a regular basis to discuss different topics (eight meetings were organised, including exchanges with staff committees and trade unions). Some positive trends were observed. In a number of HR-related areas, for example, an increase in exchanges and a more open atmosphere were noted during the meetings of the General Consultative Committee (GCC).

On several topics related to compensation and benefits, the discussions held by special sub-groups of the GCC were fruitful, with seven working groups organised in the last quarter. As a result, the seven GCC documents submitted for consultation during that period received a positive opinion, with six even getting a unanimous positive opinion. A large number of lively discussions took place at all levels on the concrete implementation of performance management, and especially the management of cases of incompetence, according to Article 52 ServRegs. Despite several compromises made on the part of management, no agreement was reached with the EPO's staff representatives. Talks will resume in 2019.

The COHSEC members – SR, management and occupational health and safety experts – unanimously agreed on a new health and safety policy. The COHSEC is to be closely involved in its implementation, as well as in ISO certification for health and safety.

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Open discussions with staff representatives over a possible review of the rules and regulations on resources and communication have already commenced. Circular No. 356 has been recently revised to increase the time available for full members of the CSC (which is now 75%). As far as communication is concerned, staff representatives have access to a wide range of communication tools, including special intranet pages, RSS feeds and notice boards. In October 2018, the Office also agreed to allow the CSC and each local staff committee to send invitations to two of their respective assemblies via mass email.

Finally, to clarify positions and achieve consensus on long-standing issues with the staff representatives, the President agreed to set up a working group in 2019 to come up with proposals to be implemented in 2020. b) Continuous dialogue with staff

In parallel to the dialogue with staff representatives and trade unions, the President continued to meet EPO staff in person in one-to-one meetings. During the second half of 2018, the President met over 750 staff members in total, plus another 120 in January 2019.

Moreover, on 31 January 2019, the Office launched the "Your voice, our future" survey to gauge how engaged, empowered and energised the employees feel at work. Strategically speaking, the survey is the baseline for measuring the staff engagement score for the Balanced Scorecard and will contribute to gathering feedback on the Office. c) Internal justice system

During the second half of 2018, there was a special focus on improving the internal means of redress, and the need to move from a culture of litigation to a culture of social dialogue (internal communiqué of the President published in October 2018). All employees who have pending appeals or complaints were asked to consider reaching an amicable settlement with the Office.

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On 5 October 2017 the new chair and two vice-chairs of the new Appeals Committee (ApC) were appointed by the President. As a result, 2018 was the first full reporting year with the new ApC and its three-tier system (three chambers led by the chair and vice-chairs as presiding members). Another new feature lies in the possibility of the ApC encouraging amicable settlements. In October 2018 the President also signed a MoU with the chair of the ApC aimed at formally safeguarding its independence and impartiality, while allocating adequate resources to ensure its proper functioning.

In October 2018, the President met Giuseppe Barbagallo, President of the ILO Administrative Tribunal (ILOAT), and Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), in Geneva. It was a good opportunity to address the large number of cases currently before the ILOAT originating from the EPO and the Office's efforts to reduce them by implementing a reformed internal justice system and increasing social dialogue.

As a result of these various efforts and initiatives, some positive trends were confirmed in recent years:

Number of files Variation in % 2016 2017 2018 (2016-2018) Management review 182 155 216 +19% Internal appeal 155 103 78 -50% Complaints before the ILOAT 161 91 76 -53%

In terms of amicable settlements, a total of 48 pending-litigation cases have been brought forward for a possible settlement discussion since October 2018 and the first settlements are already being finalised. In parallel, under the ApC, possible settlement discussions were initiated in 59 cases.

The number of internal appeals has dropped steadily over the last four years (since 2015), and the number of ILOAT complaints filed has also decreased since 2016. There was a sharp decrease in internal appeals from 103 in 2017 to 78 in 2018 (24.3%). The proportion of appeals against general decisions that are normally not within the scope of the individual appeals system decreased from 56% in 2015 to 9% in 2018.

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In 2018, the ILOAT rejected 33 appeals against the decisions of the Office (77% of the total), while allowing ten appeals in total or in part (23%). At its 127th session, which was held from 22 October to 16 November 2018, the ILOAT delivered 16 judgments in EPO cases, with the complaints rejected in 14 of them (87.5%).

As far as the outcomes of the ApC in 2018 are concerned, 78% of it opinions considered the appeals unfounded, 5% were founded and 17 were partly founded.

After declining in 2017, the number of management reviews increased in 2018, mainly due to disagreements relating to the reward exercise. However, the proportion of management reviews against general reforms decreased from 56% in 2015 to 9% in 2018. Following orientation given by the President, managers are more actively engaged in meetings with staff in the framework of the management review. In 2016 18.7% of management reviews led to an actual meeting between the manager and the employee versus 72.2% in 2018.

B. RECRUITMENT AND WORKFORCE PLANNING

One of the key factors contributing to the EPO's success is having the right people in the right place at the right time. This is also known as workforce planning and plays a fundamental role Office-wide in ensuring that, from a recruitment perspective, the whole Office benefits from the most competent employees.

The EPO remains an attractive employer, despite competition with other enterprises for Europe's best multilingual talents, especially in the area of engineering and science.

In 2018, the EPO received 10 864 applications, despite advertising far fewer vacancies (131) compared to the previous year (14 580 applications for 226 publications of vacant posts).

The Office has also ramped up its recruitment campaigns in terms of diversity, and particularly gender diversity. Overall, 38% of recruits in 2018 were female.

The Pan-European Seal Internship Programme, a co-operation between EUIPO, the EPO and 44 universities across Europe, is another pillar of the EPO's strategy to foster high quality and diversity. Currently 40 interns from 17 different countries are participating in this one year programme. Over 60% of the interns are female. One of the reasons why the full potential of the Seal programme cannot be realised relates to national constraints in terms of residence and affiliation to social security systems, especially in the Netherlands.

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In 2018 the Office also presented its general guidelines for recruitment for 2019 (CA/100/18). Based on the Office's current age pyramid and the trends observed in terms of staff turnover and the average age of leavers, forecasts showed that around 2 300 employees are expected to retire in the next ten years, including 1 200 examiners and 260 formalities officers.

In 2019, the headcount of patent examiners should increase from 4 276 to 4 300. There will also be a recruitment drive specifically for the Boards of Appeal Unit, with 23 additional posts for members to be advertised in 2019 alone (199 in 2019 vs 166 in 2018; +14%).

The bar chart below illustrates trends in the workforce for the main groups of employees, and includes recruitment forecasts for 2019:

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IV. IT AND AUTOMATION PROJECTS

A. ITR DELIVERIES FOR THE PGP AND KMS

The roll-out of deliveries from the IT Roadmap continued in 2018.

In general, no significant changes have taken place since the last quarter of 2018. Some improvements were delivered in the corporate area, along with the preparation of a new data centre in , quick wins to the existing legacy systems to keep abreast of legal changes and to provide improvements for examiners and formalities officers.

The main improvements in the patent granting process were:

 a time registration tool for formalities officers in DG 1 to harmonise the approach with examiners

 PCT fee changes for January 2019

 a package of quick wins for DG 1 users leading to better usability for users and faster procedural handling of data.

With the closure of the IT Roadmap and preparations for the new strategic plan, 2018 was also a period of consolidation, reflection and review. A clear roadmap of the way forward is currently being prepared and a number of projects are under review. a) Delivering the digital transformation agenda

The Office has continued to invest in this project so that we can accept DocX filings and move away from the PDF format.

After some delay, Modular Ansera 1.1 was deployed in November 2018 to approximately five hundred examiners. Improved features in this release reflected feedback received during the pilot study that started in July, including higher speed browsing of drawings. Access to non-patent literature will be the top priority for the next releases in 2019.

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b) Improvements to current tools

The most significant improvements of 2018 are outlined below:

 DG 1-DG 2 reorganisation: tools for the new DG 1 were adapted on time by 2 January 2018, including enhanced support for staff in the first weeks of 2018 to ensure the smooth running of operations.

 New PCT fee policy: part of the new PCT strategy aimed at strengthening the PCT system, improving the level of its services under the PCT.

 CLASMA (CLAssification and Search MAnagement tool): CLASMA replaces a number of tools that were completely independent in the past. This makes it possible to reduce the cost of future maintenance and supports efficient management of classification activities.

 Pre-search algorithms and search metrics: further improvements were delivered to examiners and line managers.

Possibility of validating European patents in .

B. DELIVERIES FOR OTHER AREAS

 A new technology for storing images has been used to replace a mainframe system. This now powers Espacenet, as well as EPOQUE and ANSERA. This new system is ready to support colour images and drawings in the future.

 Following the agreement with the CPVO (Community Plant Variety Office) data on plant varieties is now searchable by EPO examiners.

 The EPO web shop was extended to cover subscriptions, in addition to books and other publications.

 Reporting solutions and dashboards for travel management and HR were deployed.

 Datamarts were launched to provide data for workload monitoring, production, classification roles, as well as CPC quality assurance and quality control.

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C. IT AUDIT

During Q4 2018 in particular, the focus was on supporting the IT audit conducted by BCG. The final report was shared with the heads of delegations in January and discussed with staff. The main recommendations of the audit are:

 Simplify IT governance and strengthen the accountability of line management functions

 Simplify the organisational structure to reduce complexity and improve business and IT alignment

 Optimise key IT processes (demand and supply management, programme and project management, benefit assessment and realisation, solution delivery, vendor management, stakeholder management)

 Simplify the application landscape, reinforce IT security and improve overall IT architecture

 Strengthen staff engagement, foster collaboration to innovate and share knowledge, and increase appreciation and enablement of skills.

In a follow-up to this audit a new organisational structure was presented in February 2019, with a flatter structure bringing together IM and automation support in DG 1. The new structure will take effect on 1 May 2019.

V. BUILDINGS

A. NEW MAIN THE HAGUE

On 27 June 2018 the New Main and New Hinge buildings were inaugurated in the presence of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands. This was less than five years after the signature of the design and build contract with the New Main consortium. The new buildings house around 1 950 workplaces.

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The workplace concept is based on maintaining spaces for individual, high- concentration work, but strengthening collaboration and interaction between staff. The office environment offers an open, flexible and transparent space that invites staff to work together and interact. There is a mix of around 73% of workplaces in individual offices, and 27% in open spaces. These open spaces are divided into smaller areas with five to seven workplaces and scattered over the entire building. To improve collaboration at different levels, social areas are also part of the work environment. This will support a communicative atmosphere and increase staff well-being.

During July and August 2018 the New Main building was equipped and furnished. By the end of October 2018 all staff members with offices in New Main had moved in, representing a total of 2 600 moves in less than seven weeks. Building work will continue until 2021 with the demolition of the old Main building and the landscaping of the site with a large pond. The demolition phase started in January 2019 with the removal of asbestos from old Main.

New Main is a landmark building designed by renowned architects. It will foster a communicative atmosphere and boost staff well-being. The building has been nominated as a winner in the category "Best tall building 100-199 meters" by the renowned Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The award ceremony will take place in Shenzhen, China, on 8 April 2019.

B. OTHER BUILDING PROJECTS

Tender specifications for security services at the EPO's Munich premises were drafted in 2018, along with two significant amending/extension agreements on new space in the EPO's Haar building.

New Main best reflects the Office's policy, as it provides a state-of-the-art, flexible and transparent working environment, with a focus on environmental sustainability. New Main serves as a flagship for the EPO's future building strategy, not only in The Hague, but also in Munich and Vienna. Future EPO building projects, the status of the EPO's premises and related building activities are described in CA/99/18.

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To lay a solid foundation for the Building Roadmap, which will be presented at the June 2019 Council meeting, detailed assessments of the Shell building in The Hague, as well as the EPO's premises in Munich and Vienna were commissioned in 2018 and work was started on them.

The rented buildings Le Croisé and Rijsvoort were handed back to their respective landlords and the rental contracts were terminated on 1 January 2019. This will generate yearly savings of EUR 5.3 million. Successful negotiations enabled the EPO to rent additional space for the Boards of Appeal Unit in Haar.

The EPO's Munich data centre was electrically upgraded to increase the reliability of its power supply, while the data centre in The Hague was electrically maintained with a big power down over the Christmas period, when the functionality of switching over to emergency power was positively tested.

The EPO's sustainability activities to reduce our impact on the environment were once again audited and certified successfully for all sites (EMAS scheme) in 2018.

All building-related insurance policies were updated to reflect the new situation in The Hague. The new primary data centre in Luxembourg was also incorporated into these insurance policies.

VI. EPN

A. CO-OPERATION WITH MEMBER STATES

The Office has confirmed its commitment to continue to implement co-operation projects until its new co-operation strategy is operational. The national offices of the member states worked with the Office to implement co-operation activities and progress was made in line with bilateral co-operation plans on joint activities. Progress specifically took place in the areas of raising awareness, training provided by the Academy, language courses for national delegates, EQE candidate support and activities related to working agreements on national searches. Important progress has been made on the acquisition of national patent data.

In 2018, 528 candidates passed the European Qualifying Examination (EQE). For the 2019 EQE, 2 848 candidates have requested enrolment, marking a slight increase (1.9%) compared to the 2018 EQE (2 794 candidates). In response to a long-standing request from candidates and tutors, we are investigating the introduction of a computer-based examination. Initial tests were promising and a pilot is being prepared for the next EQE.

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Preparations for the annual meeting on co-operation with the member states, scheduled for the first half of May 2019 and hosted by the Irish office, continued. The event is expected to bring together the heads of all of the member states’ national offices and will allow the Office to present the key outcomes of the consultation process for the Strategic Plan, which will be presented to the Administrative Council for endorsement in June 2019. The possible co-operation projects and activities deriving from the implementation of the Strategic Plan will subsequently be presented in a TOSC meeting in autumn 2019.

B. EUROPEAN PATENT ACADEMY

In line with the Academy's annual training service plan for the staff of national offices, seminars on search and examination at entry, intermediate and advanced levels were held in Sofia and Munich for some 100 examiners from several member and non-member states. The 2019 edition of the advanced distance learning course on EPOQUE Net was also launched.

New additions to the Academy's e-learning centre included updated modules on the problem-solution approach, short video tutorials on aspects of patent information tools and an e-learning module containing conference recordings made during the recent blockchain conference at the EPO.

To reach out to professionals at national and regional levels, the Academy launched a series of compact one-day seminars in 2018. The first events dealt with formalities for patent administrators and – in close co-operation with the epi – the case law of the boards of appeal. Both series help to bring users of the system closer to the EPO and familiarise them with changes in our practices and case law.

The following new learning material was published in 2018: "Compulsory licensing in Europe", "The Jurisdiction of European courts in patent disputes" and the "Patent litigation terminology manual", which is the final part of the patent terminology project. These publications were made available online too. The first quarter of 2019 also saw the launch of the "Best of Search Matters" web page promoting the learning material published in the Elsevier "World Patent Information" journal in autumn last year.

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The EPO's series of classroom training on IP strategy and IP management across Europe was continued with events held in Xanthi and Alexandroupoli, . Finally, two study visits for interested academics took place. The Munich visit focused on making the best possible use of patent information at universities at entry level, while the visit in The Hague dealt with computer-implemented inventions at advanced level. Both events attracted over 100 participants.

C. CO-OPERATION WITH EUIPO

In its fourth year the joint commitment of EUIPO and EPO to developing the Pan- European Seal Programme focused on extending strategic partnerships with technical universities and from all member/extension states. The Office has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 50 member universities and educational institutions in 21 member states. The programme will grow substantially in the years ahead with a view to achieving the equal representation of all our member or extension states.

In the first half of July 2018, the Office hosted the fifth edition of the IP Executive Week in Munich, organised in co-operation with the EUIPO. A total of 110 delegates from over 60 IP offices from around the world gathered to discuss upcoming IP issues. This year's programme focused heavily on the impact of disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain on IP and the administration of IP offices.

The EPO and EUIPO are working together closely to define a new MoU and annual work plan, which primarily aims to ensure the co-ordination of their activities. These activities cover both member states (e.g. EPN activities; joint conferences (and assessments) on disruptive technologies like 3D printing; education and training provided by the Academy) and non-member states (e.g. EU-funded projects). Joint efforts and a united European voice in international co- operation will help to consolidate the interests of European (industry) abroad.

D. REPRESENTATION BEFORE THE EPO

By mid-January 2019 the number of entries on the list of professional representatives before the EPO reached 12 396. This represents an increase of 2.2% on the previous year (12 132), mainly due to the registration of 458 successful candidates following the 2018 EQE. The proportion of successful EQE candidates to professional representatives entered on the list, pursuant to the transitional provisions, is currently 84.7% to 15.3%.

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The number of registered associations of professional representatives under Rule 152(11) EPC totalled 784 on 14 January 2019, which represents an increase of over 8% on the previous year. At the same time, the number of legal practitioners undertaking representation increased by 3.5% compared to the previous year to reach a total of 2 066 by January 2019.

The workload regarding the registration of general authorisations remained constantly high. The existing stock of general authorisations to be managed has now reached almost 68 500 registered files.

E. EUROPEAN PATENT REGISTER

A satisfaction survey of European Patent Register users was carried out in 2018. While a detailed analysis of the responses is ongoing, an initial breakdown of the survey results revealed that the overall satisfaction rate with services related to the European Patent Register remains at 93%. Detailed survey results will be communicated as soon as they are available.

With 's recent membership, the Federated Register now allows users to retrieve official bibliographic and legal status information from all 31 member states and extension states participating in the Federated Register project. These states are: Austria, , , , , , Denmark, , , Germany, Greece, Ireland, , Lithuania, Luxembourg, , Netherlands, , Poland, , Romania, , , , , Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the .

The end of the year also brought the addition of to the list of contracting, extension and validation states offering deep links from the European Patent Register to the respective file in the national register. This brings the number of countries on the list up to 36.

Other countries are currently at different stages of implementation and may be able to join the Federated Register service in the coming months.

In Q4 2018 around 46% of the new cases dealt with by the Legal Division were cases of registration of transfers pursuant to Rules 22 and 85 EPC.

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Roughly 19% of the new cases concerned the registration of simple and exclusive licences and other rights, most of them being security rights. Interruption of proceedings pursuant to Rule 142 EPC accounted for 25% of the workload related to the European Patent Register, in principle due to bankruptcy of the applicant. Stays of proceedings according to Rules 14 and 78 EPC and requests for the exclusion of documents from file inspection pursuant to Rule 144 EPC made up the remaining 10% of the Legal Division's cases dealt with relating to the European Patent Register.

F. PATENT INFORMATION

New Espacenet

The new Espacenet project is developing fast and is in its final phase. Following the release of the beta version of new Espacenet, beta testers have been invited to try out and explore the new Espacenet. Over 550 very valuable items of feedback and suggestions have been received to date; and users still have the opportunity to submit comments until the full release date.

Linked open EP data

The first three quarters of the new product linked open EP data launched in April 2018 were successfully concluded. Within these first nine months the corresponding pages were visited approximately 9 000 times. In 2018, the EPO developed the "INPADOC classification scheme". The top level (category level) of this scheme is modelled on the category level of the newly agreed WIPO ST.27 standard.

As a first step, the EPO has classified 2 800 INPADOC legal event codes used since 1997 on the category level of the INPADOC classification scheme.

These categories are now available for display and searching in the Global Patent Index (GPI) and new Espacenet (display only) tools.

The EPO reaffirmed its commitment to providing services in the area of Asian patent information in the first quarter of 2019 with a two-day training course on Asian patent systems at PATON Patent Centre Academy in Ilmenau, Germany, and with a webinar series on the EPO's validation states (February 2019).

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G. EPO-CPVO CO-OPERATION

Co-operation with the Community Plant Variety Office

The Administrative Arrangement with the EU Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) concluded in 2016 was extended for a further three years in 2019. CPVO President Martin Ekvad and the EPO President agreed to extend the administrative arrangement until 11 February 2022. Under the co-operation the EPO and the CPVO have enhanced bilateral co-operation and the exchange of information with a view to supporting innovation in the plant sector. In this context the EPO integrated a first set of about 6 840 CPVO variety applications in December 2018 (a total of 27 000 documents including technical questionnaires, variety descriptions and photos) into a new internal database. The data exchange aims to increase transparency and quality by enabling the EPO to utilise information available at the CPVO relating to plant varieties. The database is now operational and this collection of documents can be searched by EPO examiners. The documents concerned relate to the period between 2008 and 2018. The database will be regularly updated.

VII. EPO AS GLOBAL PLAYER

A. BILATERAL RELATIONS

In January, Jordan requested the opening of negotiations on a validation agreement with the EPO. This is the tenth country or IP organisation to initiate negotiations on the validation scheme with the EPO, following Angola, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Georgia, the Lao PDR, the Republic of , , and the OAPI. Several negotiations are in progress and it seems likely that some of them will be concluded in the course of 2019. This will expand the geographical coverage of the European patent system

In January 2019, the President also met with Andrei Iancu, Undersecretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO in Washington DC. They agreed to establish a formalised bilateral co-operation between the two offices in order to set a framework for the current and future co-operation activities of two of the world's biggest IP offices. They also discussed topics of mutual interest such as the Trilateral, IP5 co-operation and the CPC.

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Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)

The PPH provides European applicants with simplified and cost-efficient access to accelerated prosecution elsewhere on the basis of high-quality EPO work products, indicating patentable claims. With a continuously expanding network of partner offices worldwide, the PPH is the most widely used work-sharing scheme. The Office is continuing its efforts to expand its PPH network. Work is currently ongoing with the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam.

PPH participation figures at the EPO have risen once again. By the end of 2018 the total number of incoming PPH requests had reached 11 023. In most cases, requests were filed on the basis of a PCT work product. In terms of origin, Japanese applicants accounted for the highest number of requests, followed by American users. Similarly, most European applicants tend to use the PPH before the USPTO.

Within the framework of the IP5 Working Group 3 (WG3) the EPO and the JPO continued to pursue joint efforts towards the development of common, harmonised PPH metrics in 2018. Once finalised, the metrics will improve transparency and uniformity in the monitoring and reporting of PPH procedural data. The metric definitions under discussion take into account the specific procedural features of the IP5 offices. The IP5 offices are expected to conclude their work on this item by mid-2019.

6 000 4 359 5 597 4 000 2 000 704 415 131 101 35 4 18 12 1 2 1 0 0 0

Number of incoming PPH requests: 11 380 total

15 000 10 016 10 000 3 861 2 576 5 000 1 519 456 304 258 176 98 10 9 3 0 0 0 0

Number of outgoing PPH requests: 19 286 total

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B. IP5 CO-OPERATION

The EPO hosted the sixth meeting of the IP5 Global Dossier Task Force (GDTF) and the third meeting of the IP5 Industry Consultation Group (ICG) in The Hague on 16 January. Discussions focused on further improvements to Global Dossier content and feedback from the IP5 Industry on existing Global Dossier services. Seamless access to cited non-patent literature (NPL) remained a top priority for users, and IP5 Industry saw clear benefits in the EPO's proposal to enhance NPL citation data exchange via digital object identifiers (DOIs) or other appropriate identifiers.

Patent Harmonisation Expert Panel (PHEP)

In the area of procedural patent harmonisation ongoing within the framework of the IP5 Patent Harmonisation Expert Panel (PHEP), the focus is on efforts to formulate the PHEP future work plan. IP5 offices and IP5 Industry agree that future PHEP work should prioritise procedural issues, and they are currently collecting input on the proposed areas for harmonisation where IP5 Industry saw the most benefits for applicants pursuing global filing strategies; and the IP5 offices saw the greatest potential for making progress in the near term.

A detailed update on the PHEP process was presented to the Committee on Patent Law during its recent session in February 2019.

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As far as the current PHEP topics are concerned, work on the EPO/CNIPA co-led topic of unity of invention was finalised successfully and on schedule. The agreed proposal for a non-minimum reasoning, which suggests a common methodology for raising non-unity objections – including an example illustrating the application of this methodology in practice – is a significant achievement, particularly since such a common methodology is not available in the PCT International Search and Preliminary Examination Guidelines (ISPE). In terms of user benefits, it is expected to promote transparency, consistency and predictability in the offices' unity of invention assessments. A first report was submitted to IP5 Industry at the IP5 Global Dossier Task Force/Industry Consultation Group (GDTF/ICG) in January 2019 and users congratulated the offices on this important accomplishment.

In the area of citation of prior art (KIPO/USPTO-led), the PHEP finalised its analysis of the workflows applicable to the exchange of citation data. In terms of next steps, the IP5 technical experts will explore possible IT solutions to support this workflow for the benefit of applicants and examiners.

In the written description/sufficiency of disclosure project (JPO-led), the PHEP will produce the final workflow, which will be made available to the users by mid-2019.

Finally, the IP5 offices and IP5 Industry also took stock of progress in terms of harmonisation within the IP5 Patent Harmonisation Expert Panel (PHEP) and discussed potential IP5 initiatives in the area of new emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). These initiatives included the creation of a task force to explore the legal, technical and policy aspects of these technologies, their impact on the patent system and the operations at the IP5 offices.

C. STRENGTHENING THE PCT

In the early months of 2019, the Office pursued its efforts to improve its PCT services for both applicants and offices with a view to making the EPO more attractive as a PCT Authority. The following initiatives deserve a mention.

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Firstly, the PCT paperless service, launched in 2016 in co-operation with WIPO, ensures the transmittal of the search copies and subsequent documents to the EPO as ISA in electronic form. This service was further extended to twelve receiving Offices in 2018, namely the Czech Republic, , Mexico, Oman, Slovenia, Turkey, Brazil, Indonesia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and France. The number of offices benefiting from the PCT paperless service now totals 34. It is worth remembering that this service also helps to improve the EPO's ability to issue international search reports on time for the A1 publication (97% in 2017). The service is being further extended, with a view to including all receiving Offices in the PCT Paperless service by 2020.

Secondly, the pilot on the netting of PCT fees, which is also done in co-operation with WIPO, was launched on 1 January 2018. It provides that the participating receiving Offices transfer international search fees to WIPO on the one hand, and that all PCT fees due by either the EPO or WIPO to each other are offset with only one single transfer a month on the other. This enables the offices to operate the PCT system more efficiently from a financial perspective. By January 2019, 30 offices had joined the EPO-WIPO netting system, which is being progressively extended to more receiving Offices with the aim of having a netting system in place that covers all receiving Offices by the end of 2020.

Finally, the IP5 pilot on PCT Collaborative Search and Examination was launched. According to this pilot, the main ISAs share their draft search reports and written opinions with the other four offices, which also provide their contributions. These contributions will be taken into consideration by the main ISA prior to issuing the final international . The pilot is user-driven, which means that applicants must request that their application be treated under the collaborative scheme. The operational phase of the pilot was successfully launched in July 2018. The pilot will run until 2021. To date 41 CS&E files in English have been accepted in the pilot by the EPO as main ISA. As of 1January 2019, the pilot was extended to files in languages other than English. The EPO is accepting ten applications in French and German. Users have shown great interest in participating in the pilot.

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D. SUBSTANTIVE PATENT LAW HARMONISATION

As requested by the Industry Trilateral, in December 2018, the B+ Sub-Group issued a collective response to the Industry Trilateral work to date, covering the largely settled issues of prior art and conflicting applications, as well as some challenging remaining issues regarding the grace period and prior user rights. As it was quite difficult to reach agreement within the B+ Sub-Group on the substance of the response, the EPO decided to issue an additional document containing supplementary material that may be of assistance to the Industry Trilateral in their discussions.

The planned meeting of the Industry Trilateral with the Trilateral Office Heads at the end of February 2019 has been cancelled by the USPTO. The Industry Trilateral is expected to forward to the B+ Sub-Group an update on the status of their work by the end of April 2019, after which the B+ Sub-Group delegations will discuss the way forward.

VIII. UNITARY PATENT/UNIFIED PATENT COURT

Since the UK's ratification of the UPC Agreement in April 2018, there have been no further ratifications, although other member states have already prepared their ratification bills. In Germany ratification is still on hold due to the pending complaint before the Federal Constitutional Court. Once the court has taken its decision, we hope to move into the next phase, namely the period of provisional application of the UPC Agreement.

The ratification procedures of the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPCA (PPA) are advancing. The Austrian Council of Ministers approved the PPA on 19 December 2018 and, once Germany has ratified the PPA, we hope that the start of the period of provisional application can be triggered swiftly. The PPA will allow for the necessary legal, administrative and financial arrangements to be formally put into place, and for judges to be recruited.

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IX. EPO AND THE SOCIETY

A. EUROPEAN INVENTOR AWARD

The 2018 European Inventor Award in France was attended by 55 journalists, including many from leading newswire services, including AFP (France) and EFE (Spain). They conducted around 260 interviews with the award finalists alone. Around 10 interviews about the achievements of the EPO over the last eight years were conducted with top media like Handelsblatt, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, L'Opinion and Intellectual Asset Magazine.

By the end of July, the total number of published articles had reached 2 553. The attractiveness of the award is emphasised by the high levels of public interaction via social media activities related to the prize. The volume of online conversations about the award in social media was higher than ever before in 2018, and the number of video views grew significantly compared with 2017. Promotion of the finalists in social media led to over 8 000 online conversations about the award and over 800 000 views of the award videos. This meant that the EPO reached over two million people with award-related stories.

This strong online coverage was reflected by top-tier media coverage in Germany by Süddeutsche Zeitung and Handelsblatt, in France by Le Monde and LeFigaro.fr and by The Independent in the UK. Print coverage highlights included articles in Les Echos in France, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung in Switzerland, De Telegraaf in the Netherlands, Sweden's Svenska Dagbladet, the i paper in the UK, Ireland's The Irish Times, and the US newspaper Newsday. Coverage on prime-time radio and TV was also excellent. The award was covered by national public radio stations across Europe, including France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Ireland. The event was broadcast live by the French TV station Science & Vie and streamed on the websites of Euronews and Les Echos.

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B. NEW MAIN BUILDING INAUGURATION

The inauguration of the EPO's New Main building in Rijswijk took place in the presence of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on 27 June 2018. It was attended by some 350 local and international guests, including members of the diplomatic corps, the 38 EPO member states and international institutions and high-level representatives from local and national institutions and authorities. The press visit to promote the inauguration was held the day before the official ceremony and was attended by 28 national and international journalists. The inauguration generated almost 200 media clippings in the architectural press and mainstream media.

The new building received very good coverage in the architectural press. De Architect, the biggest architectural publication in the Netherlands, published an extensive article on New Main. Media outlets such as Algemeen Dagblad and Omroep West also reported on the building, and France 2 created a video production about the press event to distribute on different channels (RTV, online and social media).

EPO posts about the inauguration were viewed over 80 000 times on the EPO's social media channels on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Over 1 000 users have watched videos on the inauguration. The Dutch royal household (299 457 followers) published a post about the EPO on Facebook. The post was widely liked and shared. Many publications also shared their articles on social media, including ARCHITECT Magazine, Architectenweb, Omroep West, AD Haagsche Courant and Arquitectura Viva.

C. REPORT ON PATENTS AND SELF DRIVING VEHICLES

In November 2018, the EPO published a report on the patent landscape in self- driving vehicles. The report revealed that the number of patent applications in this area has grown 20 times faster than in other technologies, which may signal a transport revolution on the horizon. The publication of the study was supported by an external communication campaign targeting IP, business and automotive journalists and other stakeholders in and the member states. This campaign was supported by targeted social media activities, including tweets.

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Due to its topical relevance, this report was taken up in the IP, technology and automotive press and was also widely reported on in European mainstream media.

Strong online reporting was reflected by top-tier media coverage in Germany that included the newswire DPA, dozens of German dailies and leading news sites like the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Handelsblatt. Other highlights include articles published in the French business daily Les Echos, and the trade outlets Le Moci and Usine Nouvelle, the Italian newswire Ansa and the Dutch daily newspaper Nederlands Dagblad.

By the end of 2018, over 220 online and print reports were published, with important articles appearing in January 2019 (IP Watchdog interview).

D. SENSITIVE CASES IN PHARMA AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

Public oral proceedings in a high-profile opposition case related to the treatment of Hepatitis C moved the EPO into the spotlight as two of the NGOs involved, Médecins du Monde and Médecins sans Frontières, launched a Europe-wide communication campaign on the case that received a lot of media attention. The EPO's approach to patenting in the field of plants following the implementation of the new Rule 28 EPC was also widely covered in the media, particularly in the Netherlands. The opposition proceedings related to two patents on barley plants used in beer brewing were closely followed by Austrian and German media outlets.

X. RECOMMENDATION FOR PUBLICATION

Yes

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