Overview of the Appeal Proceedings according to the EPC

About one in a hundred European patent cases ends up before a Board of Appeal. The appeal reviews a decision of a first instance department of the European Patent Office. The appeal proceedings are substantially different from the first instance proceedings; they are a judicial review and not necessarily a continuation of the administrative first instance proceedings. This first aspect is even more pronounced since 1 January 2020, with the changes in the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal

This books provides an easily readable overview of the appeal proceedings in the three official languages of the EPO: English, German and French, including the (New) Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal and of the Enlarged Board of Appeal. It covers amongst others the (new) requirements on filing of an appeal, the possible actions of the Board, the stricter treatment of late filings of the parties, the conduct of oral proceedings and the issue of the decision. Thus, the book gives an up-to-date account of the most important issues of the appeal proceedings at the Boards of Appeal of the EPO.

HUGO MEINDERS (NL)

Former Chairman of a Technical Board of Appeal (mechanics) and former regular technically qualified member of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO). He passed the qualifying examinations for European and Dutch patent attorney. CEIPI tutor for the European Qualifying Examination, paper C. Co-author of the “C-Book – How to write a successful opposition and pass paper C”.

PHILIPP LANZ (AT)

Technisch vorgebildetes Mitglied einer Beschwerdekammer des Europäischen Patentamtes. Vor seiner Ernennung zum Beschwerdekammermitglied war er zunächst in der Industrie und dann als Prüfer am Europäischen Patentamt tätig. Zudem war er Mitglied eines Prüfungsausschusses für die Europäische Eignungsprüfung. Er studierte Kunststofftechnik an der Montanuniversität Leoben (AT) und legte die Europäische Eignungsprüfung ab.

GERARD WEISS (FR)

Ancien membre juriste des Chambres de recours, de la Grande Chambre de recours et de la Chambre de recours en matière disciplinaire de l’Office européen des brevets (OEB). Tuteur CEIPI pour l’examen de qualification et co-auteur de “Weiss/Ungler, Die europäische Patentanmeldung und der PCT in Frage und Antwort”.