EPO and ORDE Continue Dialogue on Patent Quality
28-Sep-2026
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Source : The European Patent Office (EPO)
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Visits : 93
MUNICH - The European Patent Office (EPO) hosted its annual bilateral meeting with the Netherlands Institute of Patent Attorneys (Orde van Octrooigemachtigden – ORDE) in Rijswijk. Chaired by Vice-President Steve Rowan, the meeting reinforced the EPO’s commitment to fostering constructive dialogue with Dutch patent attorneys, with a particular focus on quality, consistency and transparency, according to the official website of EPO.
Ongoing dialogue and follow-up on user feedback
Continuing the constructive exchange of the 2025 meeting, the EPO presented follow-up quality actions and discussed cases highlighted by ORDE. Topics included search practice, third-party observations, document availability in the European Patent Register, drafting and search-fee refunds.
The exchange highlighted the value of continuous user feedback as a critical element in the continued improvement of the patent granting process.
AI, digital services and the Observatory
The EPO provided an update on progress towards making the patent granting process fully digital for users as of 1 April 2027. This covered MyEPO services, the EPO’s secure online platform for users to manage their proceedings digitally, which will play a central role in this transition, as well as the forthcoming legal and procedural changes supporting it. The EPO also shared the latest developments in the digitalization of examiners’ tools, highlighting how AI is increasingly supporting tasks such as search, classification, machine translation and legal information, while final decisions and responsibility remain with EPO staff. To conclude, participants also received updates on the EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology, including the Data Desk, Deep Tech Finder and Patent Standards Explorer.