40th ann. European Patent Convention (EPC)

On 17 October 2013, in Berlin, the EPO (European Patent Office) will celebrate, in the presence of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on the Grant of European Patents (EPC). All the Member States, currently thirty-eight, will be present, including the Republic of San Marino, which for the occasion will present the philatelic sheet designed ad hoc by Mariangela Crisciotti. The 0.85 cent stamp reproduces the motto adopted for the communication campaign of the event ‘40 YEARS 1973-2013 ’INNOVATION MATTER", and the logo of the Organisation depicting a fingerprint. The European Patent Convention was concluded in Munich on 5 October 1973 and entered into force on 7 October 1977. We are talking about a multilateral international agreement, drafted in three languages (French; English; German), as stated in the logo, all of which are equally obligatory. The Convention constitutes a legal system that is autonomous and independent of national legal systems. It is therefore not an agreement between states, but a set of regulations that directly creates obligations and rights for natural and legal persons. The European Patent Office plays a leading role in the development of an effective global patent system while promoting innovation, competitiveness and economic growth throughout Europe. In the vignette drawn by Crisciotti, a stylisation of a human mind intent in the act of creation takes centre stage. The European patent, the subject of the celebration, is in pectore the tied document protecting original ideas and inventions. A brief historical description of the Convention appears in the side strip of the leaflet, recalling the important role it has played in its forty years of activity: the protection and dissemination of creations of human ingenuity.