II. BUSINESS DISTRIBUTION 2017
II.3 - Business distribution scheme of the Technical Boards of Appeal for the year 2017
The Presidium,
pursuant to Rule 12b, paragraph 4, of the Implementing Regulations of the European Patent Convention, as amended by decision CA/D 6/16 of the Administrative Council of 30 June 2016, which entered into force on 1 July 2016 (see OJ EPO 2016, A100),
having regard to Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal,
hereby adopts the following business distribution scheme:
Article 1
Allocation of appeals to the Technical Boards of Appeal
(1) Appeals shall be allocated to the Boards on the basis of the main classification of the International Patent Classification attributed to the application or patent at the time of filing of the appeal as follows:
Board of Appeal 3.2.01
B60 (exc. L, M); B61 (exc. L);
B62 (exc. B, M); B63-64
B66 (exc. B)
Board of Appeal 3.2.02
A61 (exc. C, F, K, L, N, Q)
Board of Appeal 3.2.03
A43 (exc. D); A44-45;
A47B, C, F, G;
B21B; B22;
C10B; C23;
E01-04, 21, 99;
F21-22; F23 (exc. N); F24-28;
F41 (exc. G); F42
Board of Appeal 3.2.04
A01 (exc. H, K67, N); A21 (exc. D);
A22; A23N; A24 (exc. B15);
A43D; A47 (exc. B, C, F, G);
A62 (exc. D); A63, 99;
F02; F03 (exc. H); F04
Board of Appeal 3.2.05
B29, 31, 41-44; B65H; B99;
F15; F16J-T; F17
Board of Appeal 3.2.06
A41-42, 46; A61F13-17;
B62B, M; B66B, 68;
C40B60;
D01 (exc. C, F); D02-05;
D06 (exc. L-Q); D07, 99;
F01
Board of Appeal 3.2.07
B02; B03 (exc. D); B04-05;
B07 (exc. C); B08-09, 24-26;
B27 (exc. K); B28, 30;
B65 (exc. H); B67;
C03B; C13B5, 15; C14B;
D21 (exc. C, H);
Board of Appeal 3.2.08
A61C, F (exc. 13-17);
B21 (exc. B), 23;
C21, 22, 30;
E05-06;
F16B-H; F99
Board of Appeal 3.3.01
A01N; A61K31;
C07 (exc. B, C, H21; K1, 2, 14-19);
C09B, D; C10M; C40B40/00, 40/04, 40/16, 80/00, 99/00; C99
Board of Appeal 3.3.02
A21D; A24B15; A61K35,
36, 41, 45, 48; C07H21;
C12 (exc. N1-7, 15; Q1/68-3/00);
C13 (exc. B5, 15);
G01N33
Board of Appeal 3.3.03
C08 (exc. J); C40B20/02, 40/12, 40/14
Board of Appeal 3.3.04
A01H; A01K67; A61K38, 39;
C07K1, 2, 14-19; C12N15/82-15/84
Board of Appeal 3.3.05
A62D; B01 (exc. D3, 15/08-15/42, 53/00-53/24, 61-71; F17; J19-49);
B03D; B27K;
C01-02; C03C; C04-06; C25;
C40B40/18;
H01M
Board of Appeal 3.3.06
A61Q19/10; A61K8 (in so far as the supplementary classification is A61Q19/10);
B01D3, 15/08-15/42, 53/00-53/24, 61-71; B01F17; B01J19-49;
C09C; C10 (exc. B, M); C11; C14C;
D01C, F; D06L-Q; D21C, H;
G03C
Board of Appeal 3.3.07
A61K7/00-7/38 (exc. 7/11-7/135);
A61K8 (in so far as the supplementary classification is A61Q1/00-5/04, 5/12-11/02, 15, 90);
A61K6, 9, 33, 47, 49-51, 101-135;
A61Q1/00-5/04, 5/12-11/02, 15, 90
Board of Appeal 3.3.08
C12N1-7, 15 (exc. N15/82-15/84);
C12Q 1/68-3/00;
C40B10/00, 30/04-30/08, 40/02, 40/06-40/10, 50/06, 50/10, 50/16
Board of Appeal 3.3.09
A23 (exc. N);
B32;
C08J; C09J;
G03F7/00-7/085, 7/42;
G03G9/08-9/135;
H01L51/00, 51/30, 51/46, 51/54;
H01S3/14-3/227
Board of Appeal 3.3.10
A61K7/11-7/135, 7/40-7/48;
A61K8 (in so far as the supplementary classification is A61Q5/06-5/10, 13, 17, 19/00-19/08);
A61L; A61Q5/06-5/10, 13, 17, 19/00-19/08;
C07B, C; C09 (exc. B, C, D, J);
C40B50/00, 50/04, 50/08, 50/12, 50/14, 50/18
Board of Appeal 3.4.01
A61N;
C40B20/08, 30/10;
G01P, R, S, T; G06K; G09 (exc. B, F, G);
G10, 12, 21, 99;
H01P, Q; H05 (exc. B, F, G, K)
Board of Appeal 3.4.02
B81-82;
G01B-N (exc. N33); G01Q; G01W; G02; H05G
Board of Appeal 3.4.03
B06;
C40B20/04, 70/00;
F03H;
G01V; G03 (exc. C, F7/00-7/085, 7/42, G9/08-9/135);
G07 (exc. B); G09B, F, G;
H01C, G, J, L (exc. 51/00, 51/30, 51/46, 51/54),
S (exc. 3/14-3/227);
H02S; H05F, K
Board of Appeal 3.5.01
C40B20/00, 20/06, 30/00, 30/02, 50/02;
G06F11, 12, 13, 15, 17/60, G06Q
Board of Appeal 3.5.02
B07C; B60L, M; B61L;
F23N; F41G;
G04; G07B; G08;
H01B, F, H, K, R, T; H02 (exc. S), 03 (exc. M), 99;
H05B
Board of Appeal 3.5.03
G05;
H04 (exc. L 1-27, N)
Board of Appeal 3.5.04
G06T;
H04N
Board of Appeal 3.5.05
G06F3, 19;
H04L (exc. 29)
Board of Appeal 3.5.06
G06 (exc. F3, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19; K, Q, T)
Board of Appeal 3.5.07
G06F17 (exc.60); G11;
H03M.
(2) If, because of an uneven development of the workload of the Boards, or for other good reasons, it proves necessary to amend the distribution according to paragraph 1 during the year, the President of the Boards of Appeal may, in agreement with the Chairmen of the Boards concerned, order it. If agreement cannot be reached, the Presidium shall decide.
(3) If because of the technical content of an appeal it is appropriate to allocate it otherwise than as provided by paragraph 1, the Chairmen of the Boards concerned shall endeavour to reach agreement on the allocation, failing which the Presidium shall decide.
Article 2
Allocation of members to the Technical Boards of Appeal
The members of the individual Technical Boards of Appeal are:1
Board of Appeal 3.2.01
Ch: Giovanni Pricolo
TM: Hartwich Geuss
TM: Winfried Marx
TM: Claudio Narcisi*
TM: vacant
LM: Paul de Heij
(as from 01.02.2017)
LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba
LM: Peter Guntz
LM: Olga Loizou
Board of Appeal 3.2.02
Ch + LM: Eugène Dufrasne
TM: David Ceccarelli
TM: Mario Stern
TM: Pascal Weber*
TM: vacant
Board of Appeal 3.2.03
Ch: Graham Ashley
TM: Vincent Bouyssy
TM: Christopher Donnelly*
TM: Yves Jest
TM: Bernhard Miller
LM: Eleni Kossonakou
LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk
LM: Marie-Bernadette Tardo-Dino
Board of Appeal 3.2.04
Ch: Albert de Vries
TM: Erwin Frank*
TM: Sylvain Oechsner de Coninck
TM: Jonathan Wright
TM: vacant
LM: Tamás Bokor
LM: Christopher Heath
LM: Christof Schmidt
LM: Wim van der Eijk
Board of Appeal 3.2.05
Ch: Michael Poock
TM: Steven Bridge*
TM: Philipp Lanz
TM: Oliver Randl
TM: Henk Schram
LM: Jean Geschwind
LM: David Rogers
LM: Gérard Weiss
Board of Appeal 3.2.06
Ch: Michael Harrison
TM: Gabriele de Crignis
TM: Martin Hannam
TM: Thomas Rosenblatt*
TM: vacant
LM: Jeannine Hoppe
LM: Eleni Kossonakou
LM: Marie-Bernadette Tardo-Dino
LM: Wilhelm Ungler
Board of Appeal 3.2.07
Ch: vacant
TM: Vincenzo Bevilacqua
TM: Guy Patton
TM: Konstantinos Poalas*
TM: vacant
LM: Claus-Peter Brandt
LM: Robert Cramer
LM: Gérard Weiss
Board of Appeal 3.2.08
Ch: Paola Acton
TM: Marco Alvazzi Delfrate
TM: Matthew Foulger
TM: Christoph Herberhold
TM: vacant
LM: Ingo Beckedorf*
LM: Yvonne Podbielski
LM: Petra Schmitz
Board of Appeal 3.3.01
Ch: Albert Lindner
TM: Gudrun Seufert*
TM: Magdalena Pregetter
TM: vacant
TM: vacant
LM: Martina Blasi
LM: Lukas Bühler
LM: Paul de Heij
(as from 01.02.2017)
Board of Appeal 3.3.022
Ch: vacant
TM: Teresa Sommerfeld*
TM: vacant
TM: vacant
TM: vacant
LM: Martina Blasi
LM: Lukas Bühler
LM: Paul de Heij
(as from 01.02.2017)
Board of Appeal 3.3.03
Ch: Daniele Semino
TM: Olivier Dury
TM: Maxwell Gordon*
TM: Damien Marquis
TM: François Rousseau
LM: Claus-Peter Brandt
LM: Robert Cramer
Board of Appeal 3.3.04
Ch: Gabriele Alt
TM: Ashok Chakravarty
TM: Bart Claes*
TM: Marco Montrone
TM: Renate Morawetz
LM: Martina Blasi
LM: Lukas Bühler
LM: Paul de Heij
(as from 01.02.2017)
LM: Marie-Bernadette Tardo-Dino
Board of Appeal 3.3.05
Ch: Ernst Bendl
TM: Herbert Engl*
TM: Guy Glod
TM: Andreas Haderlein
TM: Jean-Michel Schwaller
LM: Peter Guntz
LM: Olga Loizou
LM: Richard Winkelhofer
Board of Appeal 3.3.06
Ch: Bernhard Czech
TM: Paolo Ammendola
TM: Luigi Li Voti*
TM: Giuseppe Santavicca
TM: vacant
LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba
LM: Christopher Heath
LM: Jeannine Hoppe
Board of Appeal 3.3.07
Ch: Joseph Riolo
TM: Denis Boulois
TM: Regina Hauss
TM: Ambrogio Usuelli*
TM: vacant
LM: Ingo Beckedorf
LM: Yvonne Podbielski
LM: Petra Schmitz
Board of Appeal 3.3.08
Ch: vacant
TM: Pere Julià
TM: Beat Stolz*
TM: Maria Rosario Vega Laso
TM: vacant
LM: Jean Geschwind
LM: David Rogers
LM: Richard Winkelhofer
Board of Appeal 3.3.09
Ch: Werner Sieber
TM: Jesús Jardón Álvarez
TM: Marcus Müller*
TM: Nikolaos Perakis
TM: vacant
LM: Fritz Blumer
LM: Eleni Kossonakou
LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk
Board of Appeal 3.3.10
Ch: Pascal Gryczka
TM: Christine Komenda
TM: Jacqueline Mercey*
TM: Raquel Pérez Carlón
TM: Jean-Claude Schmid
LM: Fritz Blumer
LM: Tamás Bokor
LM: Christof Schmidt
Board of Appeal 3.4.01
Ch: Gianni Assi
TM: Pascal Fontenay*
TM: Fiona Neumann
TM: Thomas Zinke
TM: vacant
LM: Jean Geschwind
LM: David Rogers
LM: Richard Winkelhofer
Board of Appeal 3.4.02
Ch: Roland Bekkering
TM: André Hornung
TM: Alphonsus Maaswinkel
(until 31.05.2017)
TM: Francisco Narganes-Quijano
TM: Hans-Christoph von Gronau
TM: vacant
(as from 01.06.2017)
LM: Georg Decker
LM: Theodora Karamanli
LM: Bernhard Müller*
Board of Appeal 3.4.03
Ch: Gunnar Eliasson
TM: Thomas Häusser*
TM: Emmanuel Papastefanou
TM: Michael Stenger
TM: Seamus Ward
LM: Tamás Bokor
LM: Christopher Heath
LM: Christof Schmidt
LM: Wim van der Eijk
Board of Appeal 3.5.01
Ch: William Chandler
TM : Norbert Glaser
TM: Marcus Höhn
TM: Paul Scriven
TM: Annika Wahrenberg
LM: Ingo Beckedorf
LM: Yvonne Podbielski
LM: Petra Schmitz*
Board of Appeal 3.5.02
Ch: Richard Lord
TM: Harald Bronold
TM: Gary Flyng*
TM: Michel Léouffre
TM: vacant
LM: Robert Cramer
LM: Jeannine Hoppe
LM: Wilhelm Ungler
Board of Appeal 3.5.03
Ch: Fred van der Voort
TM: Armin Madenach*
TM: Bernhard Noll
TM: Klaus Schenkel
TM: Timothy Snell
LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba
LM: Peter Guntz
LM: Olga Loizou
Board of Appeal 3.5.04
Ch: Christian Kunzelmann
TM: Alain Dumont**
(**exempt from his duties as a member
of the Board of Appeal until
30.06.2017),
TM: Rolf Gerdes
TM: Marc Paci*
TM: vacant
LM: Georg Decker
LM: Theodora Karamanli
LM: Bernhard Müller
Board of Appeal 3.5.05
Ch: Andrea Ritzka
TM: Kemal Bengi-Akyuerek
TM: Patrick Corcoran
TM: Philippe Cretaine
TM: vacant
LM: Fritz Blumer
LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk
LM: Gérard Weiss*
Board of Appeal 3.5.06
Ch + LM: Wolfgang Sekretaruk
TM: Stefan Krischer
TM: Martin Müller*
TM: Alan Teale
TM: Georges Zucka
Board of Appeal 3.5.07
Ch + LM: Rainer Moufang
TM: Ronald de Man
TM: Mario Rognoni*
(until 31.03.2017)
TM: Paula San-Bento Furtado*
(* as from 01.04.2017)
TM: Michael Jaedicke
TM: vacant
(as from 01.04.2017)
Article 3
Composition of the board for a particular appeal
(1) On receipt of an appeal by the registry, the Chairman shall determine the composition of the board responsible for deciding it from amongst the Board members.
(2) In determining the composition the Chairman shall in particular take account of the workload of each member and the technical and language requirements of the case.
(3) If the circumstances of the appeal make it necessary, the Chairman may designate a technically qualified member from another Board. In so doing he shall procure the consent of the Chairman of that Board.
(4) If the circumstances of the appeal make it necessary, the Chairman may designate a legally qualified member who is not a member of the Board. The procedure to be followed is laid down in Article 5(1).
(5) The President of the Boards of Appeal shall be informed of the application of paragraphs 3 and 4.
Article 4
Change of composition of a board of appeal
(1) If a member designated pursuant to Article 3 or 4 cannot or can no longer participate in the case, or if a change in the business distribution scheme occasions it, the Chairman shall designate another member of the Board to replace that member, having regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2.
(2) If a technically qualified member cannot be replaced by another member of the Board, the Chairman shall designate a technically qualified member who is a member of a Board in a neighbouring technical field. In so doing he shall procure the consent of the chairman of that Board and have regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2.
(3) If a legally qualified member cannot be replaced by another legally qualified member of the Board, the Chairman shall designate a legally qualified member in accordance with Article 5.
(4) The President of the Boards of Appeal shall be informed of the application of paragraphs 2 and 3.
Article 5
Designation of legally qualified members who are not members of the Board
(1) The designation of legally qualified members in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 4, and Article 4, paragraph 3, shall proceed in the following order:
(a) in each case, that legally qualified member is called upon whose most recent designation occurred longest ago. For newly appointed legally qualified members the day on which they assumed office shall be regarded as a notional designation. If members rank the same in time they shall be called upon in alphabetical order;
(b) if a legally qualified member resulting from the application of sub-paragraph (a) is prevented from participating, or cannot in the opinion of the Chairman be called upon taking into account the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2, or when applying Article 7, the next following member according to sub-paragraph (a) shall be called upon.
(2) For reasons which are essential to the proper functioning of a board, one or more supplementary legally qualified member(s) can be designated to that board.
(3) The following legally qualified members are designated as supplementary members:
Ingo Beckedorf: 3.2.07
Lukas Bühler: 3.2.02.
Article 6
Designation of a replacement member by the President of the Boards of Appeal
If a member of a board cannot be replaced by applying Article 4, the President of the Boards of Appeal shall designate the replacement member.
Article 7
Composition of the board where a number of appeals are closely linked
Where appeals pending before the Board are closely linked, in particular by involving similar legal or factual questions, the Chairman may order that the board shall decide in the same composition.
Article 8
Transitional provisions
(1) Cases in which before 1 January 2017 a communication has been sent or oral proceedings have been appointed shall not be affected by this business distribution scheme, nor shall those cases individually allocated in transitional provisions of previous business distribution schemes. This provision applies mutatis mutandis if the business distribution scheme is amended during the working year.
(2) In the absence of a procedure laid down by the Administrative Council in accordance with Rule 12a, paragraph 1, EPC the member of the Enlarged Board of Appeal with the longest service as Chairman of a Board shall take the place of the President of the Boards of Appeal for the purposes of this business distribution scheme
Article 9
Term of validity
This business distribution scheme shall apply from 1 January 2017 until 31 December 2017.
Done at Munich on 25 November 2016
For the Presidium
The Chairman
W. VAN DER EIJK
1 The Chairman is indicated by (Ch), the Chairman's deputy is indicated by an asterisk (*), technically qualified members by (TM) and legally qualified members by (LM).
2 In view of the vacancy situation in Board 3.3.02, the provisions of Article 3, paragraph 3 will be followed for the composition of the board in particular cases.