Case Study: European Patent Office increases transparency and access to justice with Zoom Video Communications

How Zoom Helps Increase Transparency and Access to Justice at the European Patent Office

The European Patent Office (EPO), which handles some 180,000 patent applications a year on behalf of 38 member states, faced a growing backlog of “opposition oral proceedings” after COVID-19 made in‑person hearings impossible. With 3–4% of newly granted patents routinely challenged and hearings conducted in English, French, or German, the EPO needed a trusted platform that could support interpreters, multiple audio channels, and public access to preserve timely, fair decision‑making.

The EPO adopted Zoom for all opposition hearings and evidence-taking, using its interpretation and multi-channel audio features to run multilingual virtual courtrooms. The move cleared the path to resolving backlogs, massively increased transparency and public attendance (from a few hundred in person to thousands online), broadened attorneys’ access across Europe, and allowed hearings to continue exclusively on Zoom from autumn 2021.

European Patent Office

Jeremy Philpott

Communications Manager