The European Patent Organisation is an intergovernmental organisation that was set up on 7 October 1977 on the basis of the European Patent Convention (EPC) signed in Munich in 1973. It has two bodies, the European Patent Office and the Administrative Council, which supervises the Office's activities.

European Patent Office: The European Patent Office (EPO) was set up by the European Patent Convention of 1973. It applies a single, uniform procedure to patent filings in any of its three official languages (English, French and German), and thus enables independent inventors, companies and researchers - from Europe and all over the world - to protect their inventions in a European market of over 600 million people.

Official Website: http://www.epo.org