From Alicante to Munich - the EPO appoints its new President

The EPO has announced that Antonio Campinos has been elected as its new President. His appointment will be for a five-year term starting on 1 July 2018. 

Mr. Campinos, a Portuguese national, is currently Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). He is also a former President of the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). In his welcome to his successor, current President of the EPO Benoît Battistelli hailed the appointment of Mr. Campinos as "a victory for Europe in its diversity", being the first time a national from the South of Europe has been appointed the head of the EPO.

In his role at the EUIPO, formerly known as OHIM, Mr. Campinos presided over the expansion of the office's facilities and the introduction of management and organizational changes.

Mr. Campinos has a degree in Law from the University of Montpellier, a postgraduate degree in European Studies from the University of Nancy, and a Masters' degree in Public Law from the University of Montpellier.  He worked for the Portuguese Ministry of Economy and Innovation before becoming Director of Trademarks at the INPI in 2000. He has been Chairman of the Board of Directors at the University of Strasbourg Centre for Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) since 2013.

Merpel welcomes Mr. Campinos to the exciting world of European Patents.