Annual review containing summaries of decisions from 2022 now available
In the light of the developments in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Boards of Appeal will lift measures regulating the arrangement and conduct of oral proceedings from 1 February 2023. The conduct of oral proceedings using videoconferencing (VICO) continues to be provided, see the section “Oral proceedings conducted by VICO” below.
Article 15a of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal
The German Federal Constitutional Court today published its decision on several constitutional complaints (2 BvR 2480/10, 2 BvR 421/13, 2 BvR 786/15, 2 BvR 756/16 and 2 BvR 561/18) which concerned an alleged lack of legal protection and an alleged violation of procedural rights in proceedings before technical Boards of Appeal and the Enlarged Board of Appeal. The Federal Constitutional Court held the constitutional complaints inadmissible.
The oral proceedings in case G 2/21 (“plausibility”) before the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal will be held on 24 November 2022. The public and members of the media will be able to follow the proceedings online via live stream.
Article 1(2) RPBA 2020 provides that the President of the Boards of Appeal publishes, before the beginning of each working year, a list of cases for the coming year. The list of cases for 2023 has now been published on the Boards of Appeal website.
The tenth edition of the "Case Law of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO" provides a comprehensive overview of this case law. It contains summaries of or references to almost 8 000 decisions which were issued in writing in the period up to the end of 2021 and the most important cases from the beginning of 2022.
In the light of the developments in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Boards of Appeal have revised some of the measures regulating the arrangement and conduct of oral proceedings.
The Legal Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office issued the written reasons for its decision in case J 8/20 confirming the refusal of an application in which an artificial intelligence system called DABUS had been designated as inventor in the application form.
Last year was again shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Boards of Appeal adapted their working methods to ensure access to justice while at the same time contributing to the containment of the pandemic.
New Case Law publication containing summaries of decisions in the language of the proceedings now published
Under Art. 112(1)(a) EPC, a Board of Appeal refers a question to the Enlarged Board of Appeal if it considers that a decision is required, in order to ensure uniform application of the law or if a point of law of fundamental importance arises.
A new Code of Conduct for the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office will enter into force on 1 July 2022. The new Code of Conduct contains standards for judicial conduct concerning, in particular, independence, integrity, impartiality, loyalty, diligence and discretion and building on best practices and recommendations at national and international level
President of the Boards of Appeal congratulates for arriving at this major milestone
The Legal Board of Appeal confirmed the decisions of the Receiving Section of the European Patent Office to refuse the applications EP 18 275 163 and EP 18 275 174, in which an artificial intelligence system called DABUS was designated as inventor in the application forms.
The President of the Boards of Appeal and the President of the EPO will submit a joint proposal to relocate the Boards of Appeal to the centre of Munich
In the light of the developments in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Boards of Appeal have revised some of their measures for the arrangement and conduct of oral proceedings.
The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office today issued the reasons for its decision G 1/21 (Oral proceedings by videoconference) of 16 July 2021, in which it ruled that oral proceedings before the Boards of Appeal can, during a period of general emergency impairing the parties' possibilities to attend in-person oral proceedings at the EPO premises, be held by videoconference even without the consent of the parties.
Under Art. 112(1)(a) EPC, a Board of Appeal refers a question to the Enlarged Board of Appeal if it considers that a decision is required, in order to ensure uniform application of the law or if a point of law of fundamental importance arises.
In the light of the developments in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Boards of Appeal have revised some of their measures for the arrangement and conduct of oral proceedings.
In the light of the developments in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Boards of Appeal have revised some of their measures for the arrangement and conduct of oral proceedings.
Today, the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office issued the order of its decision in case G 1/21, in which it ruled that oral proceedings before the Boards of Appeal can, during a period of general emergency impairing the parties' possibilities to attend in-person oral proceedings at the EPO premises, be held by videoconference even without the consent of the parties.
The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office issued decision G 4/19 (Double patenting) today, in which it held that a European patent application can be refused by reason of the prohibition on double patenting.
The EPO's Enlarged Board of Appeal has scheduled public oral proceedings in case G 1/21 for 2 July 2021. Members of the media and the public will be able to livestream the proceedings online.
European patent EP2373154 concerns barley and malt-derived beverages with low dimethyl sulfide level. In its decision announced at the end of the oral proceedings on 8 June 2021, Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.04 upheld the patent as granted.
With effect from 1 June 2021, the Boards of Appeal will begin to notify documents in appeal proceedings electronically via the EPO Mailbox
The EPO's Enlarged Board of Appeal has scheduled public oral proceedings in case G 1/21 for 28 May 2021. Members of the media and the public will be able to livestream the proceedings online.
Last year was shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the impact of this global health crisis, the Boards of Appeal were able to continue their successful reforms.
New Article 15a of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA) on oral proceedings by videoconference enters into force on 1 April 2021.
The Enlarged Board of Appeal has summoned the parties in case G 1/21, "Oral proceedings by videoconference", to oral proceedings on 28 May 2021 by videoconference via Zoom in accordance with Article 14 of the Rules of Procedure of the Enlarged Board of Appeal.
The canteen facilities on the premises of the Boards of Appeal in Haar have reopened as a takeaway-only service.
The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office issued decision G 1/19 (Simulations) today in which it held that the established case law on computer-implemented inventions (COMVIK approach) applies to computer-implemented simulations.
New Case Law publication containing summaries of decisions in the language of the proceedings now published
Canteen facilities on the premises of the Boards of Appeal in Haar and in the Isar Building will be closed from 11 January 2021 until further notice
In the light of the developments in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Boards of Appeal have reassessed some of their measures for the arrangement and conduct of oral proceedings.
The Boards of Appeal recently introduced a new service on their webpage.
The Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal were last revised in 2019 and the revised version (RPBA 2020) came into force on 1 January 2020. It is now proposed that the RPBA 2020 are amended by the insertion of new Article 15a clarifying that the Boards of Appeal may hold oral proceedings pursuant to Article 116 EPC by videoconference.
Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.08 issued the written decision in case T 844/18 confirming the revocation of a patent related to CRISPR gene editing. The revocation was based on a lack of novelty due to an invalid claim to priority.
In the light of the developments in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Boards of Appeal have reassessed some of their recently introduced measures for the arrangement and conduct of oral proceedings.
Article 1(2) RPBA 2020 provides that the President of the Boards of Appeal publishes, before the beginning of each working year, a list of cases for the coming year. The list of cases for 2021 has now been published on the Boards of Appeal website.
In stiller Trauer nehmen die Beschwerdekammern des Europäischen Patentamts Abschied von Christian Kunzelmann, dem Vorsitzenden der Beschwerdekammer 3.5.04, der am 31. Juli 2020 im Alter von 57 Jahren überraschend verstorben ist
In the light of the developments in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Boards of Appeal have reassessed some of their recently introduced measures for the arrangement and conduct of oral proceedings.
2019 was again a very successful year for the Boards of Appeal. From 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019, production (i.e. settled cases) in the Boards of Appeal increased by 46%. Productivity (i.e. cases settled with action divided by technical member capacity) increased by 27.8%.
The EPO's Enlarged Board of Appeal has scheduled public oral proceedings in case G 1/19 for 15 July 2020. Members of the media and the public will be able to live stream the proceedings over the internet.
The Boards of Appeal are introducing a new service on their webpage: links to selected decisions are now being added to the HTML version of the Case Law book (9th edition, July 2019).
The Boards of Appeal resume the holding of oral proceedings, to a limited extent, at their premises in Haar from Monday, 18 May 2020.
The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office issued opinion G 3/19 (Pepper) today and concluded that plants and animals exclusively obtained by essentially biological processes are not patentable.
Oral proceedings will not be held at the premises of the Boards of Appeal up to and including 15 May 2020, with the exception of oral proceedings conducted by video-conferencing technology (VICO).
Considering the pandemic spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Boards of Appeal is forced to restrict its judicial activities.
Considering the pandemic spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Boards of Appeal is forced to restrict its judicial activities.
Oral proceedings will not be held in the premises of the Boards of Appeal until 17 April 2020.
Oral proceedings will not be held in the premises of the Boards of Appeal from 16 March 2020 until 27 March 2020. Concerned parties will be contacted accordingly with a communication.
The Boards of Appeal are introducing a new service on their website: Selected decisions.
The Board of Appeal in case T 844/18 dismissed the patent proprietor’s appeal and thus confirmed the revocation of the patent.
The Board in case T 318/14 has referred points of law concerning the issue of double patenting to the Enlarged Board of Appeal.
The Boards of Appeal would like to ask all parties to its proceedings to consider at every stage of the appeal proceedings whether interpreters are actually needed for oral proceedings before the Boards of Appeal.
The list shows for each Board the cases in which the Board is likely to hold oral proceedings, issue a communication under Rule 100, paragraph 2, EPC, or issue a decision in written proceedings.
The Boards of Appeal are well on track to meet their objective of settling 90% of cases within 30 months of receipt and reducing the number of pending cases to below 7000 by 2023.
The Enlarged Board of Appeal announced the order of its decision in referral case G 2/19 at the end of the oral proceedings of 16 July 2019 on questions of law relating to the right to oral proceedings.
The latest edition contains summaries of or references to almost 7 000 decisions which were issued in writing in the period up to the end of 2018.
The Enlarged Board of Appeal today issued opinion G 1/18 on the distinction between an appeal deemed not to have been filed and an inadmissible appeal, and on the consequences of this.
Yesterday the Enlarged Board of Appeal announced its decision in case G 2/19 at the conclusion of the oral proceedings.
The revised Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA) were adopted by the Boards of Appeal Committee on 4 April 2019 and were unanimously approved by the Administrative Council at its 160th meeting on 26 and 27 June 2019. They will come into force on 1 January 2020, and are therefore referenced below as “RPBA 2020”.
The Enlarged Board of Appeal has summoned the parties in case G 2/19, “Recht auf mündliche Verhandlung bei ersichtlich unzulässiger Beschwerde und rechtliches Gehör am richtigen Ort”, to oral proceedings on 16 July 2019 in the Isar building
The Boards of Appeal offer a limited number of internship places for national judges of the EPC contracting states. For details of the programme see...
The Boards of Appeal again increased their performance in 2018. From 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2018, the number of technical cases settled increased by 22.6% and productivity (i.e. cases settled with action divided by technical member capacity) by 18%.
Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.04, in an enlarged composition consisting of three technically and two legally qualified members, decided that Rule 28(2) EPC was in conflict with Article 53(b) EPC as interpreted by the Enlarged Board of Appeal in decisions G 2/12 and G 2/13.
A new form (EPO Form 3002) has been created for parties choosing to file notice of appeal on paper. The form, which is optional, is designed to help parties avoid typical mistakes when filing the notice of appeal. In particular, it indicates the information to be provided so that the minimum requirements for the content of the notice of appeal under Rule 99(1) EPC are met.
The aim of the revision of the RPBA is to improve the appeal procedure in terms of predictability, consistency, efficiency, legal security and duration.
The revised draft of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA) agreed upon by Boards of Appeal Committee (BOAC) and the President of the Boards of Appeal is now available in English
In accordance with Article 112(1)(b) EPC, the President of the European Patent Office has referred the following point of law to the Enlarged Board of Appeal: If notice of appeal is filed and/or the appeal fee [ 1 ] is paid after expiry of the two-month time limit under Article 108 EPC, is the appeal inadmissible or is it deemed not to have been filed, and must the appeal fee be reimbursed?
The proceedings in case T 1063/18 concern the appeal of the patent applicant against the decision of an examining division to refuse the European patent application No. 12 756 468.0 (publication No. EP 2 753 168) for the sole reason that the claimed subject-matter falls within the exception to patentability according to Article 53(b) and Rule 28(2) EPC
At the "User consultation conference", users of the system will have the opportunity to hear presentations and panel discussions on the revised public draft of the RPBA.
The President of the European Patent Office has referred a point of law concerning the interpretation of Article 108 EPC to the Enlarged Board of Appeal.
The Boards of Appeal increased their performance in 2017. The number of technical cases settled increased by 2.5%, and the number of technical cases on which the Boards started work rose by 12.4% (in terms of first communications issued).
The Enlarged Board of Appeal today issued decision G 1/16 on the allowability of undisclosed disclaimers introduced into a patent claim. The decision concerns three questions of law referred to the Enlarged Board, which constitutes the highest level of judicial authority at the EPO.
The new building for the Boards of Appeal Unit of the EPO in Haar, Munich, was officially inaugurated yesterday.
The website gives easy access to the searchable database of the decisions of the Enlarged Board of Appeal, the Legal Board of Appeal and the Technical Boards of Appeal, and to important texts relating to the appeal procedure, such as the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA).
