Khanna Naina, Patent Quality at the European Patent Office

Discussions regarding patent quality have been around for a while now. While most of the early literature focuses on issues of quality in the United States, the scope of the dialogue is now spread wider and most of the patent authorities, be it national or international, have shown concern about rising suboptimal quality patents. Some authors in their comparative studies on the subject have suggested that the USA should view the EPO as the ‘golden standard’ for patenting activities. Nonetheless, even the European patent mechanism has been unable to remain impassable to the issue of patent quality, especially over the past two decades. The growing body of literature on patent quality and related concerns in Europe is a testimony to this fact. Bruno Van Pottelsberghe and Nicolas van Zeebroeck provided some evidence of low quality/value patents at the EPO. In corroboration is the recent outcry by the patent examiners at the EPO about endangered patent quality.

The patent quality...