Yannis Skoulikaris

Yannis worked for 30 years at the European Patent Office in Germany and the Netherlands, initially as a patent examiner and then for 17 years as Director Patent Grant Process in Information and Communications Technology. Prior to working at the EPO, Yannis was a systems consultant for the Hellenic Air Force and for a multinational oil company. He has a background in physics and computer Science, specialising in software technology and artificial intelligence. He has also completed a number of specialised law courses at the University of London and the Center for International Intellectual Property Studies in Strasbourg.

At the EPO, Yannis trained generations of examiners and co-drafted several revisions of the guidance on software patenting in the EPO's Guidelines for Examination, including on artificial intelligence. He was also the lead drafter for bilateral comparative studies on patenting practice for software and artificial intelligence technology with the JPO (Japan Patent Office) and CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration, the Chinese patent office). Through his extensive work with industry as an EPO manager, Yannis developed an in-depth understanding of stakeholders’ IP needs and the importance of societal issues such as human-centred use of computer technology and the ethical use of artificial intelligence.