First Georgian became European Patent Attorney
July 13, 2022
Merab Kutsia, Head of Department of Inventions and New Varieties and Breeds of Sakpatenti is the first Georgian who passed the European qualifying examination (EQE) and received the designation of European patent attorney.
A European patent attorney is entitled to represent applicants and patent holders before the European Patent Office (EPO).
The European qualifying examination (EQE) was established in 1979, and is designed to establish whether the candidate has the requisite aptitude and knowledge to represent applicants before the EPO.
The European qualifying examination (EQE) is widely regarded as one of the most difficult and demanding professional examinations, both intellectually and physically.
Candidates need to be particularly conversant with European patent law, European Patent Convention (EPC), the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, EPO board of appeal case law and certain national laws in so far as they apply to European patent applications and European patents.
The prerequisite to admission to the EQE is a University-level scientific or technical/engineering qualification and a completed a full-time training period of at least three years in one of the member states to the European Patent Organisation under the supervision of a European patent attorney. Said qualification Merab Kutsia received at Tbilisi State University (BSc) and Heidelberg University (MSc and PhD) in physics. The requested training was performed at patent attorneys firms in Munich.
EPO is a second largest organisation in Europe rendering public services, which carries out examination of applications to obtain patents for inventions and grants European patents. Its activities are directed to facilitate development of innovations, competitiveness and economic growth in Europe.
