At the spring’s 97th regular meeting of the European Patent Institute (EPI), which was held on April 27, 2024 in Sofia, current topics were discussed, which affect this professional association of representatives before the European Patent Office. The CEO of “Berin LTD”, Dipl. Ing. Vancho Damjanski participated in the meeting, during the all-day extended session, in the capacity of a regular member of the Council, representing the European patent attorneys from North Macedonia (MK).
The day before the Assembly, and in the context of the International Intellectual Property Day, April 26th, a Seminar was held on "Getting to know the provisional measures before the Unified Patent Court, UPC", and on "Strategic interaction between the European Patent Office, EPO, and the Unified Patent Court, UPC. Of the more important topics and decisions that were made, the point of improvement and progress of the qualification framework for new candidates to take the exam for European representatives, financial management and the efficient and simplified conduct of the sessions caused particular interest and discussion. Martin Zivkovski,
M.Sc., a patent attorney from the "Berin IP Agency", also participated in the Seminar.
The Council agreed to adopt the established ECTS, European Credit Transfer System, as a standard measure for evaluating the technical and scientific degree of qualification of the candidates. This move aims to harmonize the qualification requirements of candidates from different backgrounds and educational systems by providing a consistent and fair system of measuring knowledge. However, the Council decided to postpone the discussion on the absolute level of qualifications required for the European Qualification Examination (EQE), due to the need to provide additional missing data in order to have a more extensive insight and receive feedback, before a final decision is made.Also, due to the need for detailed information regarding the New EQE, the Council called on the Examination Commission and the Supervisory Board to prepare and publish detailed notices by 15 July 2024, increasing the clarity and preparedness of candidates.
Due to the scale of financial management, mandatory system of "double signing" was adopted for all bank and securities accounts managed by the European Patent Institute, epi, with delayed implementation, until conditions are met. This measure is intended to increase the security and supervision of the organization's financial transactions. From series of the steps to be implemented in anticipation of the future meetings, in addition to the point of quality, which will be considered at the future meeting, first of all it is necessary to ensure a timely review of the amendments to the Regulations, especially the structural organization and official responsibilities in the Secretariat of the European Patent Institute . These decisions and intended actions reflect the Council's continued commitment to creating a transparent, equitable, standardized and safe environment for all field professionals who make up the organization.
97. Meeting of the Council of the European Patent Institute was a good opportunity to explain the interests of the European patent attorneys and the inventors and the companies they represent, but also to renew old and create new business friendships and promote the role of the Macedonian European attorneys in within the institute that counts 14,000 representatives from 39 European countries.
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