BOARDS OF APPEAL
Information from the Enlarged Board of Appeal
Communication from the Enlarged Board of Appeal concerning case G 1/98
In T 1054/96, Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.4 referred questions relating to the patentability of claims comprising plant varieties to the Enlarged Board of Appeal. The questions were published in OJ EPO 1997, 551 and the full text of the referral is set out in this issue (OJ EPO 1998, 511). The Enlarged Board of Appeal considering the referral will be composed as follows: P. Messerli (Chairman), R. Teschemacher, G. Davies, B. Jestaedt, P. Lançon, J.-C. Saisset, P. van den Berg.
It is expected that third parties will wish to use the opportunity to file written statements in accordance with Article 11b of the Rules of Procedure of the Enlarged Board of Appeal (OJ EPO 1994, 443). To ensure that any such statements can be given due consideration without holding up the proceedings more than necessary, they should be filed by the end of March 1999 quoting case G 1/98.