Communications des Chambres de recours de l'Office européen des brevets

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

Conformément à l'article 112(1)b) CBE, le Président de l'Office européen des brevets a soumis à la Grande Chambre de recours la question de droit suivante : Lorsque la formation d'un recours et/ou la taxe de paiement [ 1 ] ont lieu après l'expiration du délai de deux mois prévu à l'article 108 CBE, le recours est-il irrecevable ou réputé non formé, et la taxe de recours doit-elle être remboursée ?

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).