​​Case Law Conference 2024

Moderator: Richard Winkelhofer 
Legally qualified member, Boards of Appeal, Judge at the Higher Regional Court of Vienna on leave of absence. He holds a master's degree in business administration and a doctorate degree in law and has worked in the Austrian judiciary since 1995. From 2008 to 2010 he served as the President of the Special Chamber of the Supreme Court of Kosovo for the Rule of Law Mission EULEX Kosovo. From 2011 to 2014, he was Head of the Justice Department in the Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU. Before joining the Boards of Appeal in 2016, he worked as a Rule of Law Advisor in the European External Action Service. He is a member of the Presidium of the Boards of Appeal, of the Disciplinary Board of Appeal, and several working groups. 

Kemal Bengi-Akyürek
Chair of a technical board of appeal (Electricity), Boards of Appeal. PhD in electrical engineering (telecommunications), joined the EPO in 2002 as a patent examiner in telecommunications. Appointed as a technically qualified member of the Boards of Appeal in 2012 and in 2019 Chair of Technical Board 3.5.03. Since December 2023, he is Chair of Board 3.5.05 which mainly deals with appeal cases in the fields of telecommunications, mobile end devices, graphical user interfaces, industrial automation systems, autonomous driving, railway technology, acoustic devices (hearing devices) and AI-based algorithms in particular for biomedical systems. Author of several articles on patent law and a regular speaker at conferences on topics like assessment of inventive step, patentability of computer-implemented inventions and the application of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal. 

Peter Blok
Professor in the Center for Intellectual Property Law of Utrecht University. Holds the patent law chair. Judge at the UPC Court of Appeal and deputy-judge at the Court of Appeal of The Hague. Specialised in intellectual property law, in particular patent law. He was a judge in the Intellectual Property chamber of the Court of Appeal of The Hague and the District Court of The Hague. Previously he was an attorney-at-law in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Finished and defended a PhD thesis on privacy and data protection law at Tilburg University in 2002. Part of his research was done at Georgetown University Law Center, Washington D.C. Studied law and philosophy at Leiden University.  

Fritz Blumer
Legally qualified member, Boards of Appeal and Enlarged Board of Appeal. Studied electrical engineering at ETH Zürich and worked in the field of physical process technology. Diploma and doctorate in law, University of St. Gallen. LL.M. (Harvard Law School). Admitted to the Swiss bar. Worked as attorney-at-law in Zürich before joining the Boards of Appeal in 2008. Published in the fields of patent law and international civil procedure. 

Tobias Bremi
Swiss & European patent attorney, judge. Studied physical chemistry at ETH Zurich and completed his doctoral thesis in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Started training as a patent attorney in a Zurich law firm in 1998, followed by studies at Université Robert Schuman, Strasbourg, to acquire a sound knowledge in IP, and passed the European qualifying examination in 2001. Moved to Isler & Pedrazzini AG in 2002 and has been a partner in the firm since 2006. Many years of experience in proceedings to obtain patents in the most important industrialised nations, but also regularly advises and represents his clients in contentious proceedings concerning the validity and infringement of patents. In 2011, he played an active role in setting up the Swiss Federal Patent Court where he has spent 50% of his time as one of two permanent judges. Very active in teaching and tutoring at different universities, and in the further development of the legal profession.  

Jeannine Hoppe
Legally qualified member, Boards of Appeal. Legally qualified member and spokesperson of the Boards of Appeal. German state diplomas in law (Göttingen) and Doctorate in international private law (Munich). Before joining the Boards of Appeal in 2017 as a legally qualified member, she was a judge at the Federal Patent Court in Munich in various appeal senates and in a nullity senate. Before that she was a judge at the Higher Regional Court, Braunschweig. Involved in the training of legal trainees and patent attorneys in lectures, seminars, as a member of the German Judicial Examination Office and of the Examining Committee for German Patent Attorneys. Published books in international private law and trademark law. 

Sir Richard Meade
British High Court judge. Called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1991 and practised intellectual property law from 8 New Square chambers. Appeared before the European Court of Justice and European Patent Office as a barrister. Took silk in 2008, served as a recorder from 2010, and was appointed deputy High Court judge in 2011. In addition to practice, jointly edited Kerly's Law of Trade Marks and Trade Names from the thirteenth edition in 2001 to the fourteenth edition in 2005. Appointed a judge of the High Court in 2020. Received the customary knighthood in the same year. Judge in Charge of the Patents Court and Intellectual Property. 

Marcus Müller
Chair of a technical board of appeal (Chemistry) and former member of the RPBA drafting group, Boards of Appeal. Before joining the Boards of Appeal, worked as an examiner and member of the examination committee for Paper C of the European qualifying examination.  Prior to the EPO, obtained a PhD in polymer chemistry, worked in the patent department of Akzo Nobel, the Netherlands, and qualified as a European patent attorney. Co-lecturer in the epi seminar about procedural aspects of appeal proceedings and co-author of "Proceedings Before The European Patent Office – A Practical Guide to Success in Opposition and Appeal".  

Karel Peirs
Technically qualified member, Boards of Appeal. Holds a degree in electrotechnical engineering and physics from Ghent University and furthered his expertise with a PhD focused on computer simulations of molecular systems. His expertise led him to the EPO in 2003, where he served as a patent examiner in the field of electro-acoustics for 16 years. In 2019, he transitioned to the Boards of Appeal as a technically qualified member. His current focus lies in appeals concerning electro-acoustics, computer-implemented inventions (CII) and control elements. 

Teresa Sommerfeld
Chair of a technical board of appeal (Chemistry – Biotechnology), Boards of Appeal, member of the Presidium of the Boards of Appeal and of several working groups and committees. Studied medicine in Lisbon at the Universidade Nova, was then a post-graduate student at the Gulbenkian Biology and Medicine PhD Program (Portugal) and at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology in Martinsried, Germany.  Holds a PhD in neurobiology and molecular biology from Lisbon’s Universidade Clássica. Before joining the Boards of Appeal, worked as an examiner in biotechnology and passed the European qualifying examination. After working as an assistant to a Biotechnology board, became a technically qualified member of a Biotechnology and Pharmacy board in 2013.