European Patent Office (EPO) Series: "Team Campinos" in Split
Previous Parts:
Part 21
EPO President Campinos delivering a keynote speech to a captive audience of Administrative Council delegates at the EPN Annual Cooperation Meeting which took place in Split on 11th and 12th May 2026.
We continue our coverage of the 20th Annual Cooperation Meeting of the European Patent Network which took place in Split, Croatia, on 11th and 12 May 2026. In this part our focus is on the EPO delegation which attended the meeting.
Unfortunately we don't have access to a list of the attendees but the photographic record confirms that the EPO delegation included the following key members of "Team Campinos":
- Steve Rowan, Vice President Patent Granting Process
- Angel Aledo Lopez, Chief Operating Officer
- Diego Eguidazu Alonso, Chief Information Officer
- Christoph Ernst, Vice President Legal & International Affairs
- Gilles Requena, Chief Patent Research and Policy Officer
- Mariana Karepova, Principal Director European & International Affairs
- Telmo Vilela, Principal Advisor Patent Research and Policies
- Xavier Seuba, Principal Director Academy and Professional Certifications
The officials listed above are all members of the EPO's Management Advisory Committee.
Karepova is the former head of the Austrian IPO who was co-opted into "Team Campinos" in 2023 via the EPO's notorious "revolving door".
Mariana Karepova, Principal Director European & International Affairs speaking at the Annual Cooperation Meeting. In the background (front row, from left to right): COO Angel Aledo Lopez, Vice-President Steve Rowan, Vice President Christoph Ernst and EPO President António Campinos himself.
Front row, from left to right: Xavier Seuba, Telmo Vilela, Gilles Requena, COO Angel Aledo Lopez and Vice-President Steve Rowan. Diego Eguidazu Alonso, the EPO's Chief Information Officer is visible in the back row (first person on the right).
The EPO team was of course headed by Campinos himself who delivered a "forward-looking" keynote speech to the assembled audience consisting mainly of Administrative Council delegates from the national IP offices.
In the next part we will take a look at some of the Administrative Council delegates that were in attendance at the meeting. █