On July 6-7, 2017 Essen, Germany, hosted a workshop where representatives of the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) and Eurasian patent attorney law firms met ThyssenKrupp AG (TK) concern managers and employees of various departments working in the field of intellectual property protection.

ThyssenKrupp AG is represented in over 80 countries worldwide and is the world’s largest manufacturer of quality steels, one of the leading manufacturers of elevators, escalator equipment, is among the top ten suppliers of the automotive industry. Thus, the interest of the company’s guests was concentrated on such technical areas as industrial chemistry and steel production, mechanics, electrical equipment, steering systems.

Organization of work in intellectual property in TK, as well as corporate campaigns to manage assets in this area was of great interest. At present, European and German patent attorneys work in the divisions related to the intellectual property of TK. Each direction of TK’s activities is supervised by the department, which is responsible for registration and protection of intellectual property rights.

The visit program consisted of six sections. The TK representatives informed the guests about the activities of their divisions, perspective trends of development, use of patent information in work, etc.

The EAPO delegation, in its turn, made a presentation of the Eurasian Patent Organization. Afterwards, the delegates and the Eurasian patent attorneys answered questions on Eurasian patent procedure and the activities of the Eurasian Patent Office. Most of the questions referred to the substantive examination practice, appeal and opposition procedures at EAPO. The TK representatives were also interested in patent infringement, as well as judicial practice of challenging Eurasian patents in the member states of the Eurasian Patent Convention.