As Managing IP knows all too well, in-house counsel are often guarded in their comments on contentious intellectual property topics.
But sometimes there is an issue of great enough importance to warrant a strong exchange of views.
Beat Weibel, chief IP counsel at Siemens in Munich, has been frank in his comments on patent quality standards at the EPO.
“The EPO’s process is designed to get as quickly as possible to the annuities.
“If we as users feel the quality has decreased, it is only fair that we are heard,” he told Managing IP on December 1.
He’s also turned words into action.
Weibel has led the Industry Patent Quality Charter, a group of in-house counsel who have vowed to prioritise quality over quantity in their patent filing strategies.
Signatories to the charter will meet on Thursday, December 8, to share their views on what needs to be done to improve patent quality. As of the time of publication, we still don’t know whether the EPO will attend.
The Siemens counsel has repeatedly urged EPO president António Campinos to meet with the counsel as a group so they can thrash out their concerns.
But whether such a meeting happens or not, Weibel has made it clear he will keep saying what he feels needs to be said.
