Reform to EPO’s Board of Appeal

On 1 July it was announced that the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation had agreed to reform its Board of Appeal.

The Board of Appeal is the body that takes decisions on appeals against decisions of the European Patent Office concerning European patent applications and European patents. Member states have voted and accepted a comprehensive reform proposal that will allow the Board of Appeal greater independence and improve efficiency.

These reforms include:

• creating a new Boards of Appeal Unit within the EPO, which will be managed by a President of the Boards of Appeal (a new position)
• the President of the BoA will report to the Administrative Council rather than the EPO President
• a newly created subsidiary committee of the Administrative Council, the Boards of Appeal Committee, will create a link between the BoA and the Administrative Council and advise the President of the Boards of Appeal on managerial and organisational issues
• the new Boards of Appeal unit will be based in Munich
• the EPO President will delegate to the President of the Boards of Appeal all managerial powers relating to the Boards of Appeal Unit.

For further information please see click on the link below.

https://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2016/20160701a.html