The EPO recently published its new strategic plan for the coming years up to 2028.
1. The strategic plan focusses on one goal: sustainability. This goal is to be achieved via five drivers, which remain the same as for the previous strategic plan 2023:
- People – Focusing on sustainable engagement.
- Technologies – Increasing the EPO’s capabilities with forefront technology.
- Quality products and services – Improving the high-quality and timeliness of its products and services.
- Partnerships – Collaborating closely with partners to increase quality and enhance the accessibility of the patent system for all.
- Financial sustainability – Safeguarding the EPO’s financial sustainability in uncertain times.
2. Relevant key aspects of these five drivers include:
People (Driver 1): one target is to achieve an end-to-end recruitment cycle of less than four months time for hiring.
Technologies (Driver 2): the EPO will explore the possibilities of integrating Artificial Intelligence into the workflows.
Quality Products (Driver 3): the time from examination to grant should not exceed 36 months. The target is for this indicator is 70%. 75% of the cases should be granted within 48 months from filing. Further, the modalities of accelerating prosecution will be assessed, in particular for third parties.
Partnerships (Driver 4): the EPO will work on achieving further convergence of patent practices with the members of the European Patent Network (EPN).
Financial Sustainability (Driver 5): the EPO plans in particular with a 2.1% average production increase per year.
3. The Strategic Plan 2028 also gives an overview over the legacy tools that will be decommissioned in the coming years, including the European Patent Register.
4. The complete Strategic Plan can be found at: https://link.epo.org/web/about-us/office/en-epo-strategic-plan-2028.pdf .
This IP Alert is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.