Article 14

BOARDS OF APPEAL

Business distribution scheme of the Technical Boards of Appeal for 2025^**

The Presidium,

pursuant to Rule 12b, paragraph 4, of the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention,

having regard to Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal,

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

A43 (exc. D); A44-45;

A47B, C, F, G;

A61M5/178-5/34;

B23;

B60 (exc. L, M); B61 (exc. L);

B62 (exc. B, M); B63-64;

B66 (exc. B);

E01C19, 23;

F21;

F41 (exc. G); F42

Board of Appeal 3.2.02

A61 (exc. C, F2/00-2/20, F2/26-17/00, K, L, M5/178-5/34, N, P, Q)

Board of Appeal 3.2.03

B21B; B22;

C10B; C23;

E01 (exc. C19, 23);

E02-04, 99;

F22; F23 (exc. N); F24-28

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;

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, 33;

B65 (exc. H); B67;

C03B; C13B5, 15; C14B;

D21 (exc. C, H);

E21

Board of Appeal 3.2.08

A61C, F (exc. 2/24, 13-17);

B21 (exc. B);

E05-06;

F16B-H; F99

Board of Appeal 3.3.01

–

Board of Appeal 3.3.02

A01N;

B01D53/00-53/24, D61-71;

C07 (exc. B, C, H21; K1, 2, 14-19);

C09B, D;

C10 (exc. B, G, J, L);

C12 (exc. M, N, P, Q);

C99

Board of Appeal 3.3.03

C08 (exc. J)

Board of Appeal 3.3.04

A01H; A01K67; A61K31/00-31/375,
36, 38, 39, 41, 45, 48;

C07K1, 2, 14-19; C12N15/82-15/84

Board of Appeal 3.3.05

A62D;

B01 (exc. D53/00-53/24; D61-71; J19-49);

B03D; B27K;

C01-02; C03C; C04-06; C21; C22;

C25; C30;

H01M

Board of Appeal 3.3.06

B01J19-49;

C09C; C10G, J, L; C11; C14C;

D01C, F; D06L-Q; D21C, H;

G03C

Board of Appeal 3.3.07

A61K6;

A61K8 (in so far as the supplementary classification is A61Q (exc. 5/06-5/10, 13, 17, 19));

A61K9, 31 (exc. 31/00-31/375), 33, 35, 47, 49-51, 101-135;

A61P;

A61Q (exc. 5/06-5/10, 13, 17, 19)

Board of Appeal 3.3.08

C07H21; C12M, N (exc. N15/82-15/84), P, Q;

C40B;

G01N33

Board of Appeal 3.3.09

A21D;

A23 (exc. N);

A24B15;

B32;

C08J;

C13 (exc. B5, 15);

G03F7/00-7/085, 7/42;

G03G9/08-9/135;

H01L51/00, 51/30, 51/46, 51/54;

H01S3/14-3/227;

H10K85

Board of Appeal 3.3.10

A61K8 (in so far as the supplementary classification is A61Q5/06-5/10, 13, 17, 19);

A61L; A61Q5/06-5/10, 13, 17, 19;

C07B, C;C09 (exc. B, C, D)

Board of Appeal 3.4.01

A61N;

G01P, R, S, T; G06K (exc. 9); G09 (exc. B, F, G); G10, 12, 21, 99;

H01P, Q; H05 (exc. F, G, K)

Board of Appeal 3.4.02

B07C; B60L, M; B81-82;

F23N; F41G;

G01B-N (exc. N33); G01Q; G01W; G02; G07B (exc. 15);

G08 (exc. G);

H02 (exc. S); H03 (exc. M), 99; H05G

Board of Appeal 3.4.03

B06;

F03H;

G01V; G03 (exc. C, F7/00-7/085, 7/42, G9/08-9/135), G04; G05D;

G07 (exc. B); G09B, F ; G;

H01B, C, F, G, H, J, K, L (exc. 51/00, 51/30, 51/46, 51/54), R, S (exc. 3/14-3/227), T;

H02S; H05F, K;

H10 (exc. K85)

Board of Appeal 3.5.01

G05B; G06F17/60, G06Q

Board of Appeal 3.5.02

–

Board of Appeal 3.5.03

–

Board of Appeal 3.5.04

G06T; G08G;

H03M13;

H04H, N

Board of Appeal 3.5.05

B61L;

G05 (exc. B, D);

G06F3, 12, 13, 19; G07B15; G16;

H04 (exc. H, N)

Board of Appeal 3.5.06

G06 (exc. F3, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 30, 40, K, Q, T); G06K9;

H03M (exc. 13)

Board of Appeal 3.5.07

G06F11, 15, 16, 17 (exc. 60), 30, 40; G11

(2) If

(a) because of the technical content of an appeal or

(b) for the purpose of balancing out the workload of Boards,

it is appropriate to allocate the appeal or a group of appeals otherwise than as provided by paragraph 1, the Chairs of the Boards concerned shall endeavour to reach agreement on the allocation, failing which the Presidium shall decide.

The parties concerned by such a reallocation shall be informed in writing.

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: Claudio Narcisi
(until 28.02.2025)

TM: Juan José de Acha González

TM: Sophie Mangin

TM: Vincenzo Vinci

TM: Michael Geisenhofer

TM: Andrea Wagner

LM: Peter Guntz

LM: Olga Loizou

LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba

LM: Aurélie Jimenez

LM: Monika Millet

Board of Appeal 3.2.02

Ch: Marco Alvazzi Delfrate

TM: David Ceccarelli*

TM: Stephanie Böttcher

TM: Samuel Dennler

TM: Axel Martinez Möller

LM: Christof Schmidt

LM: Yvonne Podbielski

LM: Nikolaus Obrovski

Board of Appeal 3.2.03

Ch: Christoph Herberhold

TM: Bernhard Miller*

TM: Rafael Baltanás y Jorge

TM: Michael Olapinski

TM: Bernd Goers

LM: Jeannine Hoppe

LM: Nikolaus Obrovski

LM: Frédéric Bostedt

Board of Appeal 3.2.04

Ch: Andrea Pieracci

TM: Jonathan Wright

TM: Sylvain Oechsner de Coninck

TM: Gabriel Martin González

TM: Christian Kujat

TM: Sabine Hillebrand

LM: Christopher Heath*

LM: Tamás Bokor

LM: Karoline Kerber-Zubrzycka

LM: Monika Millet

Board of Appeal 3.2.05

Ch: Philipp Lanz

TM: Oliver Randl*

TM: Tom Vermeulen

TM: Bettina Spitzer

TM: Matthias Holz

LM: Fritz Blumer

LM: Martina Blasi

LM: Birgit Burm-Herregodts

Board of Appeal 3.2.06

Ch: Michael Harrison

TM: Thomas Rosenblatt*

TM: Martin Hannam

TM: Pedro Cipriano

TM: Markus Dorfstätter

LM: Wilhelm Ungler

LM: Jeannine Hoppe

LM: Stefanie Ruhwinkel

Board of Appeal 3.2.07

Ch: Guy Patton

TM: Anja Beckman*

TM: Vincenzo Bevilacqua

TM: Antonio Cano Palmero

TM: Stephanie Watson

TM: Benjamin Paul

LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba

LM: Yvonne Podbielski

LM: Eric Mille

LM: Stefanie Ruhwinkel

Board of Appeal 3.2.08

Ch: Paola Acton

TM: Matthew Foulger

TM: Andreas Björklund

TM: Gerhard Buchmann

TM: Christoph Vetter

LM: Christof Schmidt*

LM: Karoline Kerber-Zubrzycka

LM: Frédéric Bostedt

Board of Appeal 3.3.01

–

Board of Appeal 3.3.02

Ch: Marcus O. Müller

TM: Michele Maremonti*

TM: Paul O'Sullivan

TM: Achim Lenzen

TM: Samuel Bertrand

LM: Lukas Bühler

LM: Martina Blasi

LM: Roberto Romandini

LM: Birgit Burm-Herregodts

Board of Appeal 3.3.03

Ch: Daniele Semino

TM: Olivier Dury*

TM: François Rousseau

TM: Damien Marquis

TM: Matthieu Barrère

LM: Wilhelm Ungler

LM: Anna Bacchin

LM: Laurence Basterreix

LM: Monika Millet

Board of Appeal 3.3.04

Ch: Magdalena Pregetter

TM: Regina Hauss*

TM: Ashok Chakravarty

TM: Silke Albrecht

TM: Dulce Luis Alves

TM: Berthold Rutz

TM: Oskar Lechner

LM: Lukas Bühler

LM: Martina Blasi

LM: Roberto Romandini

LM: Anna Bacchin

Board of Appeal 3.3.05

Ch: Ernst Bendl

TM: Guy Glod*

TM: Thorsten Burkhardt

TM: Sonja Besselmann

TM: Josef Roider

LM: Peter Guntz

LM: Olga Loizou

LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

Board of Appeal 3.3.06

Ch: Jean-Michel Schwaller

TM: Paolo Ammendola*

TM: Sergio Arrojo

TM: Ralf Elsäßer

LM: Christopher Heath

LM: Olga Loizou

LM: Jeannine Hoppe

Board of Appeal 3.3.07

Ch: Ambrogio Usuelli

TM: Denis Boulois

TM: José Molina de Alba

TM: Eric Duval

TM: Martin Steendijk

TM: Jennifer Lécaillon

LM: Yvonne Podbielski*

LM: Aurélie Jimenez

LM: Laurence Basterreix

LM: Stefanie Ruhwinkel

Board of Appeal 3.3.08

Ch: Teresa Sommerfeld

TM: Bart Claes*

TM: Renate Morawetz

TM: Marco Montrone

TM: Daniel Pilat

TM: Anja Schmitt

LM: David Rogers

LM: Lukas Bühler

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

LM: Anna Bacchin

Board of Appeal 3.3.09

Ch: Andreas Haderlein

TM: Francesco Rinaldi*

TM: Andrea Veronese

TM: Markus Ansorge

TM: Christian Meiners

LM: Georg Decker

LM: Aurélie Jimenez

LM: Roberto Romandini

LM: Nikolaus Obrovski

Board of Appeal 3.3.10

Ch: Pascal Gryczka

TM: Raquel Pérez Carlón*

TM: Matthias Kollmannsberger

TM: Armin Zellner

LM: Tamás Bokor

LM: Fritz Blumer

LM: Laurence Basterreix

Board of Appeal 3.4.01

Ch: Paul Scriven

TM: Pascal Fontenay*

TM: Bernhard Noll

TM: Thomas Zinke

TM: Torsten Petelski

TM: Ana Medeiros Gaspar

LM: David Rogers

LM: Lukas Bühler

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

LM: Claes Almberg
(until 31.03.2025)

Board of Appeal 3.4.02

Ch: Roland Bekkering

TM: Francisco Narganes-Quijano
(until 30.04.2025)

TM: Gary Flyng

TM: André Hornung

TM: Harald Bronold

TM: Christian Kallinger

TM: Fabian Giesen

TM: Claudia Vassoille

LM: Bernhard Müller*

LM: David Rogers

LM: Peter Guntz

LM: Wilhelm Ungler

LM: Martina Blasi

LM: Georg Decker

LM: Claes Almberg
(until 31.03.2025)

Board of Appeal 3.4.03

Ch: Thomas Häusser

TM: Michael Stenger

TM: Emmanuel Papastefanou

TM: Judith Thomas

TM: Andreas Böhm-Pélissier

TM: Marc Ley

LM: Tamás Bokor*

LM: Georg Decker

LM: Eric Mille

Board of Appeal 3.5.01

Ch: William Chandler

TM: Marcus Höhn*

TM: Norbert Glaser

TM: Annika Wahrenberg

TM: Wojciech Zubrzycki

TM: Raimund Moser

TM: Luca Falò

TM: Ivayla Kürten

LM: David Rogers

LM: Christof Schmidt

LM: Eric Mille

LM: Laurence Basterreix

Board of Appeal 3.5.02

–

Board of Appeal 3.5.03

–

Board of Appeal 3.5.04

Ch: Brigitte Willems

TM: Marc Paci*

TM: Alexander Seeger

TM: Benjamin Le Guen

TM: Francesc Sanahuja

LM: Bernhard Müller

LM: Wilhelm Ungler

LM: Georg Decker

LM: Birgit Burm-Herregodts

Board of Appeal 3.5.05

Ch: Kemal Bengi-Akyuerek

TM: Klaus Schenkel*

TM: Eyüp Konak

TM: Nikolay Uhlmann

TM: Javier Eraso Helguera

TM: Karel Peirs

TM: Peter Tabery

LM: Christopher Heath

LM: Fritz Blumer

LM: Jeannine Hoppe

LM: Roberto Romandini

LM: Claes Almberg
(until 31.03.2025)

LM: Frédéric Bostedt

Board of Appeal 3.5.06

Ch: Martin Müller

TM: Alan Teale*

TM: Georges Zucka

TM: Teodor Alecu

TM: Miguel Domingo Vecchioni

LM: Bernhard Müller

LM: Aurélie Jimenez

LM: Karoline Kerber-Zubrzycka

Board of Appeal 3.5.07

Ch + LM: Jean Geschwind

TM: Paula San-Bento Furtado*

TM: Ronald de Man

TM: Michael Jaedicke

TM: Corinne Barel-Faucheux

LM: Eric Mille

Article 3

Composition of the Board in a particular appeal

(1) The Chair shall determine the composition of the Board responsible for deciding it from amongst the Board members.

(2) In determining the composition, the Chair 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 Chair shall designate a technically qualified member from another Board. This shall be done in agreement with the Chair of that Board.

(4) If the circumstances of the appeal make it necessary, the Chair shall designate a legally qualified member from another Board. This shall be done in agreement with the Chair of the Legal Board of Appeal.

(5) The President of the Boards of Appeal shall be informed of the application of paragraphs 3 and 4.

Article 4

Replacement of members

(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 Chair 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 of one of the Boards listed below cannot be replaced in accordance with paragraph 1, the Chair shall designate a member of one of the Boards of the group as defined below, subject to the agreement of the Chair of that Board and having regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2:

• Boards 3.2.01, 3.2.03, 3.2.04, 3.2.05 and 3.2.07;
• Boards 3.2.02 and 3.2.08;
• Boards 3.3.04, 3.3.07 and 3.3.08;
• Boards 3.3.02, 3.3.03, 3.3.05, 3.3.06, 3.3.09 and 3.3.10;
• Boards 3.4.03 and 3.5.01; and
• Boards 3.5.05 and 3.5.07.

(3) If a technically qualified member cannot be replaced in accordance with paragraph 1 or 2, the Chair shall designate a technically qualified member from another Board. This shall be done in agreement with the Chair of that Board and with regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2.

(4) If a legally qualified member cannot be replaced in accordance with paragraph 1, the Chair shall designate a legally qualified member from another Board. This shall be done in agreement with the Chair of the Legal Board of Appeal and with regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2.

(5) The President of the Boards of Appeal shall be informed of the application of paragraphs 3 and 4.

Article 5

Exclusion and objection

(1) For the purpose of taking a decision on exclusion or objection under Article 24, paragraph 4, EPC, the Chair in the particular appeal or other members concerned shall be replaced by their alternates.

(2) The alternate to a technically qualified member shall be the next technically qualified member on the list for the Board as set out in Article 2, with the first member on the list being the alternate to the last one on the list.

(3) The alternate to a legally qualified member shall be the next legally qualified member on the list for the Board as set out in Article 2, with the first member on the list being the alternate to the last one on the list.

(4) The alternate to the Chair shall be determined according to paragraphs 2 or 3, depending on their (technical or legal) qualification.

(5) If the alternate according to paragraphs 2 to 4 is unavailable, the next member on the respective list shall become the alternate.

(6) If a full Board cannot be composed applying these provisions, alternates shall be drawn from the next Board in the same technical field, according to the same principles, with Board 3.2.01 being the next to Board 3.2.08, Board 3.3.02 being the next to Board 3.3.10, Board 3.4.01 being the next to Board 3.4.03 and Board 3.5.01 being the next to Board 3.5.07.

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 Chair may order that the Board shall decide in the same composition.

Article 8

Transitional provisions

Cases in which before 1 January 2025 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.

Article 9

Term of validity

This business distribution scheme shall apply from 1 January 2025 until 31 December 2025.

Done at Haar on 2 December 2024

For the Presidium

The Chair

C. JOSEFSSON