On Thursday, 26 February 2026, the President of the European Patent Office (EPO), António Campinos, visited the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia (LPO) and the Ministry of Justice to discuss current cooperation matters and future joint activities aimed not only at strengthening the intellectual property system and the European patent cooperation network, but also at developing the European innovation ecosystem.
Mr. Campinos met with the LPO Director, Agris Batalauskis, and the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Lauma Paegļkalna.
During the meeting, the officials emphasised the close and effective cooperation between the LPO and the EPO, which over the years has evolved into an important strategic partnership. This cooperation has brought practical benefits to Latvia’s innovation ecosystem — strengthened institutional capacity, improved services, expanded knowledge‑transfer opportunities, and enhanced access to intellectual property protection for Latvian companies, researchers, and inventors.
Particular attention was paid to the importance of the European Patent Network (EPN) and the need to continue strengthening it in the future. Latvia highly values the EPN as a unified cooperation platform that helps national patent offices to engage more actively in the development of the European innovation ecosystem, ensuring that users receive higher‑quality, more easily accessible and modern services. The discussion placed special emphasis on the development of the PATLIB network, the strengthening of its role in supporting small and medium‑sized enterprises, start‑ups, universities and technology transfer centres, as well as on the increasingly important role of national patent offices in fostering innovation.
The parties also discussed the priorities of the EPO’s work plan 2026, the EPO’s Strategic Plan 2028, the successful operation of the Unitary Patent system and its future prospects, as well as the EPO's initiative “Scenarios for the Future 2025-2045”. Latvia reaffirmed its readiness to participate actively in discussions on future scenarios and on the challenges related to the field of intellectual property, particularly with regard to the development of new technologies, digitalisation, the impact of artificial intelligence solutions, and the strengthening of Europe’s competitiveness.
The importance of IT cooperation was also highlighted, including the development of digital tools, the interoperability of data and services, and the improvement of user‑friendly and efficient e‑services. Digitalisation is one of the key prerequisites for ensuring that the patent system is fast, secure, transparent and suited to modern needs.
The LPO Director, Agris Batalauskis, noted that close cooperation with the EPO provides real added value for Latvia, as it strengthens institutional capacity, expands support opportunities for inventors, and helps create an environment where intellectual property becomes an important tool for development and competitiveness. He emphasised that it is particularly important to continue strengthening the EPN, to further develop the PATLIB network, and to ensure that national offices become even more active partners within the innovation ecosystem.
The Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Lauma Paegļkalna, stated that Latvia highly values its excellent cooperation with the EPO, which over the years has grown into a strong and strategic partnership, making a significant contribution to the development of innovation and intellectual property in Latvia with the aim of protecting innovations created by Latvian entrepreneurs and supporting their commercialisation. She noted that this cooperation has strengthened the LPO's capacity and improved both the quality and accessibility of its services for Latvian innovators. She highlighted that a major benefit for Latvian patent applicants is the availability of practical support, such as the free patent search service, which greatly facilitates the registration of intellectual property.
This visit confirmed the shared understanding between Latvia and the EPO of the need to build a forward‑looking, resilient and innovation‑friendly patent system that provides clear added value for European entrepreneurs, researchers and society as a whole. Latvia will remain an active and constructive partner in strengthening the EPN, developing PATLIB, promoting IT cooperation, and engaging in joint work on future scenarios and new areas of collaboration.