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).
