View source for European Patent Institute

The '''Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office''', also known as '''European Patent Institute''' ('''epi'''), is a professional association of European [[patent attorney]]s and an international non-governmental public law corporation. It was founded on 21 October 1977 by the [[Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation]] by adopting the Regulation on the establishment of an institute of professional representatives before the [[European Patent Office]].<ref>{{EPC Article|134a|1|a}}, formerly {{EPC 1973 Article|134|8|b}}</ref> All European patent attorneys, i.e. all persons entitled to [[Representation before the European Patent Office|act as professional representatives before the EPO]] (by virtue of either the European qualifying examination or the provisions of {{EPC 1973 Article|163|7}}), are members of the institute.<ref>{{EPC Article|134a|2}}. See also: Article 5(1) of the [https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/2016/etc/se4/p296.html ''Regulation on the establishment of an institute of professional representatives before the European Patent Office''], Official Journal EPO, Supplementary publication 4/2016.</ref> As of 2023, the institute has about 13,800 members across 39 member states.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Description of the epi - epi |url=https://patentepi.org/en/the-institute/description-of-the-epi.html |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=patentepi.org}}</ref>

The European Patent Institute publishes a quarterly journal, the ''epi Information'' ({{ISSN|1434-8853}}).

== See also ==
* [[Intellectual property organization]]
* [[Intellectual Property Regulation Board]] (IPReg) (UK)
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== References ==
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== External links ==
* {{official website|https://patentepi.org/en/}}

{{European Patent Organisation}}

[[Category:Organizations established in 1977]]
[[Category:European Patent Organisation]]
[[Category:Patent law organizations]]


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