Interview With António Campinos, President of the European Patent Office – Draghi Report – Unified Patent Court – Patent Quality – Challenges – IP Fridays Podcast – Episode 161

I am Rolf Claessen and my co-host Ken Suzan and I are welcoming you to episode 161 of our podcast IP Fridays!

Today’s guest is António Campinos, who is the president of the European Patent Office. We talk about the Draghi report, patent quality, the Unified Patent Court, AI, validation in non-European countries and many other topics!

But before we jump into this interview, I have news for you:

Our podcast IP Fridays has been named as one of the best intellectual property podcasts in the world by FeedSpot! You can find the link in the shownotes.

The European Patent Office has published the Patent Index 2024. The US, Germany and Japan are the strongest patent filers at the European Patent Office, followed by China, South Korea and France. The biggest three patent filers are all from Asia, namely Samsung, Huawei and LG. The strongest US filer is Qualcomm in fourth place and the biggest German filer is Siemens at 6^th place.

Now for an unusual decision of a patent judge: magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has ordered a patent litigator Bill Ramey to pay the attorney fees of the opponent Google. She said that the attorney “failed to conduct an adequate pre-suit investigation that would have uncovered information demonstrating that the patent-infringement claim lacked merit and also ‘unreasonably continued pursuing’ the claim despite notice from the defendant that the claim lacked a colorable basis,”. Google was represented by Barnes & Thornburg.

The EUIPO has published CP15 Common Communication “Comparison of goods and services: treatment of terms lacking clarity and precision and common interpretation of Canon criteria and other factors”. It enhances consistency in the comparison of goods and services across the EU. Terms lacking clarity and precision must not be excluded from the outset but should be interpreted based on their natural and literal meaning, considering the Nice Classification. Such terms cannot be interpreted in a way that benefits the trade mark owner. If identical or synonymous unclear terms appear in both the earlier and the contested mark, they are deemed identical. Additionally, a single factor—such as intended purpose, relevant public, or distribution channels—may be sufficient to establish similarity. By introducing common definitions and interpretations of key comparison criteria, CP15 promotes transparency, legal certainty, and harmonized decision-making among IP offices.

I have published a book “Marken. Recht. Einfach.” With the publisher Frankfurter Allgemeine Buch on 5^th March 2025. Today I learned that I my book entered the bestselling list of manger magazine for business books at 8^th place! I am very grateful for all who have helped me with this huge success!

And now let us jump into the interview with António Campinos!

In this episode of IP Fridays, Rolf Claessen interviewed António Campinos, who has been the President of the European Patent Office since July 1, 2018, and was previously the head of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

The first topic centered around the Draghi Report, which Campinos described as a much-needed wake-up call for Europe. He emphasized that the report underlined the continent’s innovation gap in comparison to global powers such as the United States and China. One of the critical messages of the Draghi Report, according to Campinos, is that Europe is hindered by excessive regulation, which weakens its internal market and impairs its ability to compete economically. He noted that although Europe has produced more startups than the US over the past five years, many of these startups eventually relocate to the US due to the lack of sufficient scale-up funding and a highly fragmented internal market. This fragmentation brings bureaucratic complexity, which especially impacts micro-entities and startups. Campinos argued that, to maintain its welfare model and remain competitive, Europe must become more productive by investing not just more, but smarter in innovation.

Campinos continued by pointing out that while Europe leads in certain technological areas—such as transportation, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and clean technologies (especially hydrogen, power grids, and plastics recycling)—it lags behind in others. Batteries, for instance, remain a major area of concern where Asia is leading. In AI, although patent filings have grown significantly in Europe, the US and China are still far ahead. Similar gaps were observed in biotech and pharmaceuticals. He stressed that if Europe wishes to accelerate its innovation trajectory, it must both increase and improve the efficiency of its innovation investments.

Rolf then asked how the European patent system could help mitigate fragmentation and complexity. Campinos responded with two perspectives. From a legal standpoint, the EPO launched a convergence program in collaboration with its member states to harmonize legal practices across Europe. This includes standardizing approaches in the granting process for computer-implemented inventions and AI-related patents. He argued that harmonized practices significantly reduce administrative burdens, particularly for SMEs and research institutions.

The second and more strategic angle focused on improving data accessibility and usability. Campinos emphasized the importance of converting raw data into actionable knowledge and business intelligence. The EPO has made patent data available through tools like Espacenet, which saw over 18 million visits in the past year. The EPO is now investing in advanced technologies like large language models and natural language processing to make this data more readable and accessible. A notable example is the new “Technology Intelligence Platform,” which allows users—whether researchers, businesses, or policymakers—to explore innovation trends, leading companies, and technology landscapes without requiring prior expertise.

Rolf brought up the unitary patent and the Unified Patent Court (UPC), asking about the insights gained since its launch. Campinos called it a “huge success,” citing over 50,000 requests for unitary protection and more than 700 court decisions delivered within six months. He highlighted that the system was deliberately designed to be attractive to smaller entities. Data shows that one-third of unitary patent requests came from SMEs and individual inventors, with half of these SMEs choosing the unitary effect after grant—figures that outpace participation in traditional European patents. He expressed hope that more EU member states would soon join the system, encouraged by the success and efficiency of the UPC. Ultimately, he suggested that political will could extend the system’s reach even beyond the EU.

Reflecting on the long road to establishing the UPC, Campinos acknowledged past mistakes, particularly the lack of early stakeholder involvement. He believes the key lesson is the importance of listening to and working with all stakeholders—including industry, judges, and professionals—early in the process. Applying this lesson to current topics like standard-essential patents (SEPs) and supplementary protection certificates (SPCs), Campinos supported the European Commission’s decision to withdraw its SEP proposal, which he said had been widely criticized. However, he still sees the need for measures to improve transparency and licensing practices in SEPs, and he noted that any SPC reform should involve the jurisdiction of the UPC.

The conversation then shifted to digital transformation and AI. Campinos stated that the primary challenge for any organization, including the EPO, is simplification. Digital tools must support simplified legal and administrative processes, otherwise, transformation efforts fail. He emphasized the importance of change management and the need to adopt an iterative development mindset with minimally viable products that evolve over time. With regard to AI specifically, the EPO maintains a “human-in-the-loop” approach, ensuring that all final decisions are made by humans, even when AI tools are used in the process.

Rolf raised the issue of maintaining quality amid high user expectations and a growing volume of work. Campinos highlighted the EPO’s objective strengths: a highly skilled workforce of over 4,000 examiners, access to the world’s largest collection of patent and non-patent literature, and powerful search tools. One unique feature of the EPO’s process is the preliminary opinion on patentability included in the search report, typically delivered within six months. This early insight helps applicants secure funding and plan business strategies. Campinos also mentioned that the EPO has strengthened its quality control processes, expanded user consultations through stakeholder panels (SQUAPs), and introduced pragmatic quality assessments involving external patent attorneys and internal examiners.

On the topic of applicant engagement, Rolf noted that informal in-person meetings with examiners had been helpful in the past and asked whether such interactions might return. Campinos responded that while all meetings are formally structured, the EPO has made extensive efforts to engage applicants through one-on-one meetings, company visits (virtual, in-person, or hybrid), and even company-led training sessions. A new initiative will send EPO teams to trade fairs to meet with multiple companies, including competitors, to learn about emerging technologies and collect feedback on the EPO’s processes and services.

The discussion turned global as Rolf asked about the EPO’s efforts to meet the needs of international users. Campinos described the growth of validation agreements, which allow EPO patents to be recognized in non-member countries. From just 1.6 million global filings 15 years ago, the number has grown to over 3 million in 2023. The EPO now has agreements with six countries outside Europe, with Laos and Costa Rica recently joining. Together with its member states, the EPO’s validation system now covers a market of 720 million consumers. Campinos expressed optimism that further expansion in Latin America is likely in the future.

In closing, Rolf asked Campinos for a message to users, innovators, and policymakers. Campinos responded by reaffirming the EPO’s commitment to delivering the highest-quality services and products. He acknowledged that mistakes may happen but emphasized that the office learns from them. To policymakers, he echoed a quote from Michel Barnier: “We have to understand before we act,” underlining the need for thoughtful, evidence-based policymaking in intellectual property matters.

The interview concluded with mutual thanks and an appreciation of the opportunity to reflect on the EPO’s work, its role in the innovation ecosystem, and the future of patent law in Europe and beyond.