European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The EPO's Brussels Liaison Officer
Previous Parts:
Part 13
António Costa greets the EPO's Brussels Liaison Officer, Patrice Pellegrino.
In this part we take a look at the second member of the entourage which accompanied EPO President António Campinos to his meeting with António Costa in Brussels on 3rd February 2026, namely the head of the EPO's Liaison Office in Brussels, Patrice Pellegrino.
The purpose of the EPO's Liaison Office in Brussels is not entirely clear but it seems to exist to provide a point of contact between the EPO and EU institutions.
Source: Diplomatic Service of the European Union
According to the official website of the Diplomatic Service of the EU, Pelligrino took up his duties with the EPO's Brussels Liaison Office in January 2020 but otherwise there is not much further information available about him. His name is listed on the webpage of the EPO's Management Advisory Committee but, in contrast to the other members of the MAC, no photo of him has been provided.
As far can be determined, Pellegrino is a lawyer by profession and he previously held a position as "Senior Adviser on Internal Market & Consumer Affairs and Fiscal Affairs" with EuroCommerce, a lobby group representing the European retail and wholesale sector.
Patrice Pellegrino, the head of the EPO's Brussels Liaison Office, previously held a position as "Senior Adviser on Internal Market & Consumer Affairs and Fiscal Affairs" with EuroCommerce.
Back in 2009, Pellegrino appeared as a witness before the European Union Committee of the House of Lords where he was questioned about the EU Consumer Rights Directive. He also appeared as a guest speaker at a meeting held by the "2nd Consumer Rights Directive Forum" at the Stanhope Hotel in Brussels on 2nd June 2010.
At some point thereafter, the records indicate that Pellegrino took up a position as the Brussels Liaison Officer for the EU's trademark agency, known as the "Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market" (OHIM) which was rebranded as EUIPO in 2016. He is known to have held that position from at least 2015 onwards.
From at least 2015 onwards, Pellegrino held a position as the Brussels Liaison Officer for the EU's trademark agency, known as OHIM (rebranded as EUIPO in 2016).
In his capacity as the Brussels Liaison Officer for OHIM/EUIPO, Pellegrino is known to have reported on matters connected with the "European Observatory".
The "European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights", to give it its full name, is a network of experts and specialist stakeholders managed by the EUIPO whose aim is "to improve the fight against counterfeiting and piracy by sharing information and best practice, raising public awareness, strengthening cooperation, and developing better tools."
It would appear that in January 2020, Pellegrino was induced by Campinos to jump ship from the EUIPO and take up his current position as Brussels Liaison Officer for the EPO.
In this role Pellegrino is a regular participant at events involving participation of EPO and EU institutions. For example, he was present at the EPO's headquarters in Munich in September 2025 when Campinos welcomed a delegation of MEPs from the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) headed by the Bulgarian MEP Ilhan Ahmet Kyuchyuk.
EPO President António Campinos and JURI Committee Chair Ilhan Kyuchyuk with their respective delegations during a visit of MEPs to the EPO's Munich headquarters in September 2025. The EPO's Brussels Liaison Officer Patrice Pellegrino can been seen on the right of the picture.
It was in his capacity as the EPO's contact person in matters relating to EU institutions that Pellegrino accompanied the EPO President António Campinos to the meeting which took place with António Costa in Brussels on 3rd February 2026.
In the next part we will turn our attention to the third member of the EPO President's entourage on that occasion, namely Sandro Miguel Ferreira Mendonça. █