Standards are the invisible protocols that ensure our devices and services work together seamlessly. But how do they relate to patents? And what does this mean for innovation and competition?

Uncover how the interplay between standards and patents shapes technological progress. This discussion dives into how the Unified Patent Court and the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre aim to streamline patent litigation and enhance legal coherence across Europe.

Finally, we introduce the European Patent Office's new dataset: the Patent Standards Explorer. By linking patent applications to standards documents, it offers a valuable resource for better understanding the innovation journey. 

More information: 

Standards and the European patent system, May 2025: full study

Patent Standards Explorer dataset

"Patents, standards and innovation: securing Europe’s competitive edge" event recording

Narrator: Victor Arribas Martinez, Stream Leader, EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology

Guest: Pere Arque Castells, Stream Leader, EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology

Featuring insights from speakers at the EPO Observatory’s "Patents, standards and innovation: securing Europe’s competitive edge" event:

• Gabriele Mohsler, Vice President Patent Creation Management, Ericsson

• Kirti Gupta, Vice President and Chief Economist of Global Technology, Cornerstone Research

• Bowman Heiden, Director of the Center for Intellectual Property (CIP), University of Gothenburg

• Justus Baron, Director of BRELA and Research Director, Northwestern University Center on Law, Business and Economics

• Aleš Zalar, Director, Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre, Unified Patent Court

• Rian Kalden, Presiding judge of the 2nd panel of the Court of Appeal, Unified Patent Court

• Alexander Haertel, Cluster Lead Patents, Deutsche Telekom

• Sophie Pasquier, Principal Licensing Counsel, Philips 

Curious where the latest technology trends are heading?

The EPO's annual Patent Index offers a comprehensive look into these advancements, tracking technological growth and patenting activity as well as top applicants and countries in the lead.

Join EPO experts as they guide you through 2024’s key insights and explore some of the top fields like computer technology; electrical machinery, apparatus, energy; and transport. They also discuss the uptake of the Unitary Patent and how often women inventors were named on patent applications.

Narrator:

Jeremy Philpott, EPO Communication Manager

Guests:

Gilles Requena, EPO Chief Patent Research and Policy Officer

Wiebke Hinrichs, EPO Patent Examiner in Cycles, Frames, Chains & Safety

Marc Nicolas, Business Analyst at the EPO

Yann Ménière, EPO Chief Economist

Further resources:

⁠Patent Index 2024⁠

⁠Studies and reports⁠

⁠Women’s participation in inventive activity⁠ (November 2022)

⁠EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology

This episode delves into the principal challenges facing innovation in Europe, as outlined in Mario Draghi’s prominent report “The future of European competitiveness.” Listen to gain insight into:

• the role patent data plays in understanding innovation trends
• which technical fields Europe is lagging behind in compared to its competitors
• how the EPO’s high-quality patents and other activities contribute to the innovation process
• the critical factors that may impact Europe changing course.
  

These important topics were tackled in a conversation between Gilles Requena, Chief Patent Research & Policies Officer at the EPO, and Alexandr Hobza, Chief Economist, Directorate-General for Research & Innovation at the European Commission, with moderation by Joff Wild, Head of Content at Sisvel and former Editor in Chief of IAM magazine.  

Additional links:

• ⁠Mario Draghi’s report: “The future of European competitiveness”⁠
• ⁠New innovation strategy for EU is vital – says report⁠ (EPO news item)