European Round Table on Patent Practice

The European Round Table on Patent Practice (EUROTAB) is described as "a pan-European group consisting of lawyers (including European Patent Office (EPO) staff, and Commission, national patent offices) in the patent field", Susana Borrás, [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a758389019 "The governance of the European patent system: effective and legitimate?"] , Economy and Society, Volume 35, Number 4, November 2006, pp. 594-610(17), ISSN: 0308-5147 (Publisher: Routledge). ] or a body where the national patent offices of the Contracting States of the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the European Patent Office come together to discuss differences in practice and see whether a harmonized approach is possible. [ [http://www.wmitchell.edu/lawreview/Volume32/Issue4/14PCTTranscript.pdf "2006 Patent Cooperation Treaty Conference: Transcript of Proceedings"] , Willliam Mitchell Law Review, Vol. 32:4]

Along with the Standing Advisory Committee before the European Patent Office (SACEPO), a committee advising the European Patent Office on patent law issues, and the European Patent Judges' Symposium, EUROTAB is one of the most significant and institutionalised forums of legal professionals created and sponsored by the EPO. Already in the 1990s, "the strong interest and active participation of contracting states in these discussions confirm [ed] the growing importance of EUROTAB as an expert forum on patent practice in Europe". Council of Europe Staff, Council of Europe, P Leuprecht, J Schwietzke, "European Yearbook 1994", Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1996, page 19, ISBN 9041101934]

Meetings

* 3rd, 1994, Stockholm, Sweden
* 4th, 1995, Newport, United Kingdom
* 5th, 13-14 May 1996, Vienna, Austria [ European Patent Office, [http://legis.obi.gr/ESPACEDVD/legal_texts/epc2000/epc2000/documents/ca_pl/_pdf/ep99007.pdf CA/PL 7/99] , Revision of the EPC: Articles 52(4) and 54(5), 1999. ]
* 6th, 22-23 May 1997, Paris, France [ Official Journal of the EPO (OJ EPO), 7/1997, [http://www.european-patent-office.org/epo/pubs/oj97/7_97/2_797.pdf "Report on the 67th meeting of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (10 to 13 June 1997)"] , p. 316. ]
* 7th, 1998, Lisbon, Portugal European Patent Office web site, [http://www.european-patent-office.org/epo/an_rep/1998/html/5_e.htm "EPO Annual Report 1998, International affairs"] . Consulted on March 21, 2008. ]
* 8th, 20-21 May 1999, Munich, Germany
* 10th, 10-11 May 2001, Madrid, Spain [ es en Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas, [http://www.oepm.es/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheadervalue1=inline%3B+filename%3Dmemoria2001.pdf&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1150475309993 "Memoria de Actividades. Report on the Activities"] , pages 44-45 (2.3.1. EUROTAB Meeting in Madrid), 2001. ]
* 11th, May 2002, Kilkenny, Ireland [ World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) web site, [http://www.wipo.int/cgi-ipoa/atr_public/atr_details_query.pl?country_id=IE&language_id=en&type_name=Patent&atrid=593&atr_year=2002&atr_year_filter=2002&status=2&type_id=102&atr_type=PI&short_name=Ireland Annual Technical Report 2002 on Patent Information Activities submitted by Ireland (SCIT/ATR/PI/2002/IE)] . Consulted on March 21, 2008. ]
* 12th, 15-16 May 2003, Berlin, Germany
* 13th, 13–14 May 2004, Budapest, Hungary [ [http://www.hpo.hu/letolt/Eves_jelentes_2004.pdf "Hungary Patent Office, Annual Report 2004"] , pages 7 and 46. (pdf) ]
* 14th, May 2005, Taastrup, Denmark [ European Patent Office web site, [http://www.epo.org/about-us/office/annual-reports/2005/developments.html "EPO Annual Report 2005, Developments in the European patent system"] . Consulted on March 21, 2008. ]
* 15th, 11-12 May 2006, Ljubljana, Slovenia [ Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) web site, [http://www.uil-sipo.si/sipo/office/about-us/announcements/news-repository/clanki/eurotab-2006/ "Eurotab 2006"] , Announcements, June 9, 2006. Consulted on March 21, 2008. ]
* 16th, 10-11 May, 2007, Prague, Czech Republic
* 17th, 8-9 May, 2008, Ankara, Turkey [ [http://www.european-patent-office.org/epo/pubs/oj008/04_08/04_cal8.pdf "Calendar of events"] , OJ EPO, 4/2008 ]

References