The Turkish Patent Institute (TPE) ranked first among European national patent offices in its use of cooperation programs offered by the European Patent Organization (EPO) in 2004 and 2005, according to officials in Ankara.
TPE joined the EPO in 2000 and has since engaged in both bilateral and multilateral programs with the organization. A bilateral program launched in 2004, originally scheduled to run three years, was completed in roughly 18 months. That program comprised 8 projects and carried a budget of 300,000 euros.
During those years, TPE drew on one-sixth of the total resources the EPO set aside for 31 member countries, giving it the top position among participating national offices. The institute is currently active in 6 separate cooperation projects.
TPE Chairman Yusuf Balci credited the result to the institute's engagement in international forums, saying the work helped build a patent culture domestically and opened project opportunities to other countries. He also noted that proposals his institute backed were approved at the EPO's Administrative Council in 2005.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in October 2006, in its own words.