EPOscript: Due process for European patenting

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A comparative jurisprudence study. 

International organisations often carry out their tasks in an incomplete legal environment and have to find ad hoc solutions to legal problems. In the case of the EPO, the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) could be referred to as a way of filling the procedural gaps in the EPC. The main part of this study compares the practice of the EPO boards of appeal with the principles laid down in Article 6 ECHR with a view to assessing the extent to which the boards have succeeded in meeting ECHR standards in their case law. Other chapters in the study address the absence of a comprehensive legal environment for international organisations, the organisation of the boards of appeal, the right of access to them, the principle of a fair trial and the future of patenting in Europe.