A free and safe data flows with the European Patent Organisation - The EC has started the process to allow data to flow freely and safely between the EU and EPO.

Today, the European Commission has started the process to allow data to flow freely and safely between the EU and EPO.
For that purpose the Commission proposed the first-ever EU adequacy decision for an international organisation: the European Patent Organisation (EPO).

The Commission has the power to determine - on the basis of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - whether a country or an international organisation outside the EU ensures an adequate level of data protection (i.e. a level of protection for personal data that is essentially equivalent to the level of protection within the EU). On this basis, it may decide to launch the process to adopt an adequacy decision, which allows the free flow of personal data from the EU, to a third country or international organisation.