Benoît Battistelli's keynote speech to 350 guests at UCL's Institute of Brand and Innovation Law event and his first UK appearance as President of the EPO. This year, the EPO welcomed Serbia, its 38th member state. Mr Battistelli noted: “This means that with a single European Patent application, protection can now be obtained in up to 40 countries, covering an overall market of 600 million people. The European market is greater than the US, Japanese and South Korean markets combined.” The scope and scale of the EPO's mandate, and its influence, are considerable. While he cited current challenges for the EPO, Mr Battistelli emphasised the need to “finish building the European patent system” and the importance of doing so from an economic perspective. In future, he envisaged a single, unitary European patent system and was optimistic about the ability to export a successful European model worldwide.