Following a complaint and in response to a statement of objections, the EPI, a European professional order composed of all the professional representatives to the European Patent Office (EPO), notified an amended code of conduct.
After substantial changes, the European Commission granted a negative clearance to most of its provisions necessary to prevent misleading advertising and to guarantee the proper functioning of EPO.
Moreover its services granted an exemption until 23 April 2000 for two of these provisions prohibiting comparative advertising and the offer of services to users which had already been clients of other representatives. The exemption expires the day of the deadline set for Member States to comply with Directive 97/55/EC which concerns misleading advertising.
Thus advertising their offices, their services in the yellow pages or in the press will now be possible.
The European Commission is of the opinion that such forms of advertising are in the interest of users. The services linked to European patent applications will be more accessible to users, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.
The European Commission decision confirms the compatibility with Article 85 of the EC Treaty and Article 53 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area of EPI code of conduct. This is the first time in the professional sector that the European Commission has applied competition rules to a field other than fixing of fees.
This article is based and incorporates information provided by the European Commission (Press Releases) and is intended for general information. Specialist advice should be sought before acting on it.
Code of conduct of the Institute of Professional Representatives (EPI) approved
