The State Industrial Property Office of North Macedonia in cooperation with the European Patent Organization EPO recently developed an e-platform for digitalization of services. The Front Office platform was launched on 02.10.2023, enclosing modules for submitting national and international patent applications, as well as applications for the extension of European patents and certificates for additional protection of medical products.

Our colleague Ivona Sekulovska, IP Attorney, was attending the 41st annual ECTA Conference this year in the famous city of Prague, whose architectural marvels and cultural charm, served as the perfect backdrop for the conference.
All the appreciation goes to the entire organizing committee for their hard work in putting together such a successful event. 
More than 800 intellectual property law community attendees had the pleasure of listening and discussing different IP topics with esteemed speakers and presenters from worldwide, whose insights and research added immense value to the conference.
We will highlight a few of the many contemporary topics, such as topics for Design Reform, the Unitary Patent System, Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPC), Works of Applied Arts, and many others.
BERIN LTD was the only company that had its representative at the conference from Macedonia, and Ivona is ready to share her experience with anyone who wants to know more about the event or intellectual property in general.
To feel part of the atmosphere, enjoy the following pictures, as an illustration of the whole event.
ECTA Conference 2023 was a resounding success and we can't wait for the next one.

On June 1, the new EU patent protection system came into force, allowing patent holders to obtain EU-wide protection with a single application.

The establishment of the model has been in the works for many years, but was only recently ratified by most of the countries that initially acceded.
At the beginning, the procedure for the single registration of the recognized European patents will apply to the 17 countries, out of a total of 25 that have signed the Single European Patent agreement, which have managed to ratify it in their parliaments. While the unified court, whose work began on June 1st, will have jurisdiction over all unitary and European patents in the territory of the entire European Union.

The European Patent Office (EPO) will manage the matters related to the single procedure for the registration of the unitary patent. The management of the procedure and the maintenance of these patents will take place through a single administration that will be taken care of by this institution.
It is expected that, with the ratification in the parliaments of the remaining signatories, this agreement will enter into force in all the countries that initially signed it.
Only Spain, among the active members of the European Union, refused to sign the agreement while Croatia was not part of the union when the signing process took place.
In addition to the economic benefits that the holders will have, the establishment of a single patent court that has the authority to decide on the territories of all member countries is particularly significant for the Union, which is a step towards the establishment of a single court system at the level of the European Union.
Our office is ready for representation in this new system and offers assistance in registering the new European Union Patent (Unitary Patent).
All the details about this significant change to the European patenting system can be found on the official website of the European Patent Office.

Only Spain, among the active members of the European Union, refused to sign the agreement, while Croatia was not yet a part of the Union during the signing process.

In addition to the economic benefits for the Union, the formation of the Unified Patent Court is particularly significant, as it will have jurisdiction over the territories of all member countries, representing a step towards the establishment of a unified judicial system at the level of the European Union.
Our office is prepared to represent clients in this new system and offers assistance with the registration of the new European Union Patent, also known as the Unitary Patent.

All details regarding this significant change in the European patent system can be found on the official website of the European Patent Office.
https://www.epo.org/applying/european/unitary.html

The 94th Council of the European Patent Institute (EPI) - an association of European patent attorneys from 39 countries, in which about 14,000 representatives are members, including 18 from North Macedonia (MK), which was held in Malmö, Sweden, on 2 and On May 3, 2023, the composition of the Council was established, and a new presidency was elected. The new councilors from MK are: Vancho Damjanski, member, (Berin), Bogoljub Ilievski (present), member, Gjorgi Filipov, present, (Berin), deputy. member and Valentin Pepeljugoski, deputy. member. Vancho Damjanski was elected as a member of the Disciplinary Committee, as a representative from MK. The members of the other committees will be elected at least one month before the autumn meeting of the Council. The new EPI Council also elected the members of the Board (Presidency), which included: president, Peter Thomsen, Switzerland (CH), vice-presidents: Mrs. Katerina Hartvičova, Czech Republic (CZ) and Tiemen Reins, Netherlands (NL), general secretary, Mrs. Magdalena Augustyniak, Poland (PL), deputy. gen. Secretary, Mrs. Ann De Klerk, Belgium (BE), Treasurer, Zolt Scentpeteri, Hungary, (HU) and Deputy. treasurer, Andreas Winter, Germany (DE). The President of the European Patent Office (EPO), Antonio Campinos, addressed the attendees of the Council with a video message.
During the two-day work of the Council, the results of the election of the new councilors were presented and determined, the reports from the work of the previous presidency (president, vice-presidents, general secretary, executive director) were adopted, and the members of the Council were introduced to the candidates for the new presidency. After the lunch break, the election of the new members of the Presidency was started, after which the Council voted and elected the aforementioned members. The old treasurer and the new president of Soweto, Peter Thomsen submitted a financial report and presented the budget of the Council for the next year, to which amendments were submitted with a request for an increase due to the participation of the members of the Council in the big celebration on the occasion of 50 years of the European Patent Convention, which will be held in October this year in Munich. On the second day of the work of the Council, after the reports submitted by the presidents of the respective committees of the Council, and after the report on the work of the Disciplinary Committee, a new Disciplinary Committee was elected, in which MK is represented by colleague Damjanski. Two new auditors and their deputies were also elected, and amendments to the procedure for election of committee members were presented. Before the end of the work, a review of all the decisions made, adopted reports and presentations was made, and then the Council finished the work with an address to the new president and symbolic taking of seats at the presiding table by all the newly elected members of the presidency.

The council was held at the Clarion Hotel Malmö Live, and the hosts organized excursions to Copenhagen (Denmark), with a visit to the royal palace and Lund (university center, the second oldest in Sweden, after Uppsala) and Malmö (Sweden), in which they were also allowed to participate the companions of the members of the Council. A special one-day excursion "Explore Malmö on foot and by boat" was organized for companions only. For the final act of the event, an exclusive dinner was arranged at the "Luftkastellet" restaurant, right on the seafront, with a beautiful view of the sunset and the combination of futuristic architecture and nature at the Swedish end of the bridge connecting Malmö and Copenhagen.
We congratulate the members of the former presidency and the colleagues of the Swedish group of European patent attorneys, as well as the employees of the EPI secretariat for the successful organization of the event, both from a professional, as well as from a social and collegial point of view.

The world's five largest IP offices (IP5) have published the IP5 Statistics Report 2021 on the IP5 website. According to the report, in 2021, the IP5 granted 1.5 million patents, an increase of 10% on the previous year, and received 2.9 million patent applications (+3.7%).

The report is an annual compilation of patent statistics published by the European Patent Office (EPO) the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The publication includes developments at all five offices, detailed coverage of similarities and differences in their patent grant procedures, as well as comprehensive worldwide data from WIPO and patent offices around the globe.

The IP5 offices have been co-operating since 2007 to improve the efficiency and quality of the global patent system by delivering joint products and services.

More details on: https://www.fiveipoffices.org/node/9151

The 93rd meeting of the Council of the European Patent Institute (epi) was held on 21 and 22 October 2022. Thecouncil meeting was held as a physical meeting in Fuengirola nearby Malaga (Spain). The meeting was attended by 132 delegates out of a total of 14,000 European patent attorneys from 38 countries, including Vancho Damjanski, Executive Director at BERIN doo and Bogoljub Ilievski, Head of the Patent Office at BERIN doo.

The day before the Council meeting, Bogoljub Ilievski, in his capacity as Vice President of the European Patent Institute (epi), attended a working meeting and an informal dinner of the Presidium with Mr. Max Brunner from General Secretariat - European and International Affairs Ministry of Justice as well as an official meeting of the Presidium members held the next day.

The work of the Council was preceded by a seminar "Latest developments in the Unitary Patent System and the European Patent Court". The delegates of the council adopted the reports of the president and vice-presidents of EPI, the general secretary and the treasurer. Also, the members of the election commission for the 2023 Council Elections were elected. The epi council did not approve the board's request to independently initiate disciplinary proceedings before the EPO without consulting the disciplinary committee. Vancho Damjanski, an active member of the disciplinary commission, actively participated in this, at times, heated discussion. 

The main event in afternoon session of the work of the council was the presentation of the vice-president of the European Patent Organization, Mr. Stephen Rowan, regarding the strategic development plan EPO 2023. Rowan additionally answered the questions of the members of the council who were most interested in the status of introduced measures to improve the quality of EPO products and services.

The evening part of the meeting was dedicated to the report of the committees. Bogoljub Ilievski took an active part in the debate about the work of the European Patent Practice Committee, who emphasized the role of European patent attorneys in communication with the EPO and asked for the active participation of the joint newly formed epi-EPO bodies responsible for improving  the quality of services.

The debates continued at the joint dinner of the council delegates, followed by delicious Andalusian specialties as well as a local Flamenco show. Representatives from Berin did not miss the opportunity to strengthen old friendships and business ties and open new ones.