Grant Rodney Philpott

Chief Operating Officer of the European Patent Office (EPO)

Mr.Grant Rodney Philpott is the European Patent Office‘s (EPO’s) Chief Operating Officer for patenting in the information and communications technology (ICT) field and is responsible for approximately 2,000 patent examiners, managers and administrative staff. During his 29 years at the EPO, he has worked across a range of technical fields, including mechanics, industrial chemistry and ICT. He has been a member of the committee responsible for organizing the European qualifying examination for patent attorneys and worked in the controlling office and on several automation projects. Previously, he held managerial positions, including principal director of the computers and telecoms operational areas and director of the EPO’s semiconductor patenting directorate in Munich. Before joining the EPO, Mr.Philpott spent three years as director of the Brazilian subsidiary of a German small to medium-sized enterprise, and nine years as an engineering officer in the British Army. He has a master’s from Cambridge University