European Round Table on Patent Practice

rdf:langString European Round Table on Patent Practice

rdf:langString 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", 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. 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".