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Alain Pompidou takes up office as President of the European Patent Office

Munich (ots)

cross-reference: photos are available at:
   http://www.naeurope.co.uk/en/story.htx?nr=300002620
Alain Pompidou took up office today as President of
the European Patent Office (EPO). The 62-year old Frenchman succeeds
a German, Ingo Kober, who, having held this post since 1996, is now
going into retirement. Elected in December 2003 by the Administrative
Council of the European Patent Organisation, the supervisory body of
the Organisation, Alain Pompidou becomes the fourth President of the
EPO since it was set up in 1977.
In a first statement, the new President paid tribute to his
predecessor's significant contribution to developing the European
patent system. The EPO with 6 100 employees is not only the fourth
biggest international organisation in the world, it is also one of
the most successful. Today, European patents have legal force in the
28 member states of the European Patent Organisation and in five
other states with links to the Organisation, a geographical area of
540 million inhabitants. Mr Pompidou considers the two main
objectives of his presidency to be "to improve, in conjunction with
the member states, the performance of the European patent system, and
to strengthen international co-operation. At Office level, this will
mean boosting efficiency by drawing more on each individual's
potential and creating real dynamic concertation with the staff".
Alain Pompidou has had a long and distinguished academic and
political career. With doctorates in medicine, science and biology,
he has been a professor in the medical faculty of the University of
Paris since 1974 and was also a director of a Paris hospital. As a
representative of his country in several European and international
organisations, and as an adviser to the French government, most
notably to the prime minister, he was instrumental in developing
numerous research and technology projects and programmes. He was a
member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1999, and was
particularly concerned over this period with the patentability of
biotechnology inventions and bioethics.
As a member of the Committee on Energy Research and Development,
he also played a key role in shaping the EU's Framework Programme for
Research.
ots Original Text Service: European Patent Office
Internet: http://www.presseportal.de
For further information, please contact:
Rainer Osterwalder
Press Officer
European Patent Office
80298 MunichGermany
Tel: + 49 89 2399-5012
Fax: + 49 89 2399-2850
e-mail:  rosterwalder@epo.org

Original content of: Europäisches Patentamt (EPA), transmitted by news aktuell

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