ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL
Reports on meetings of the Administrative Council
Report on the 102nd meeting of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (7 to 10 June 2005)
The Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation held its 102nd meeting in Munich from 7 to 10 June 2005, with Mr Roland GROSSENBACHER (CH) presiding. This followed an extraordinary meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee held on 6 June and chaired by Ms Maria-Ludovica AGRO (IT).
After noting the EPO Annual Report for 2004 and the activities reports presented by its chairman and, for the first half of 2005, the EPO President, Professor Alain POMPIDOU, the Council carried out various important appointments and elections:
First, it reappointed Messrs Manuel DESANTES (ES), Vice-President DG 5 (Legal/International Affairs), and Curt EDFJÄLL (SE), Vice-President DG 4 (Administration), for three-year terms with effect from 1 May and 1 July 2006 respectively.
Next, it elected the following persons to its various committees:
- Mr Mihály FICSOR (HU) as Chairman of the Committee on Patent Law for a three-year term with effect from 8 June 2005
- Messrs Raimund LUTZ (DE) and Harry GEIJZERS (NL) as members of the Board of the Administrative Council for three-year terms with effect from 8 June 2005
- Messrs Gerard BARRETT (IE), Richard FLAMMER (AT), Athanassios KAISSIS (GR), Lex KAUFHOLD (LU), Javier MORENO RAMOS (ES) and Slawomir WACHOWICZ (PL) as alternate members (for Messrs Kevin WOODROW (GB), Yusuf BALCI (TR), Jürgen SCHADE (DE), Benoît BATTISTELLI (FR), Marcus Giorgio CONTE (IT) and Josef KRATOCHVIL (CZ) respectively) of the Supervisory Board of the Academy of the European Patent Organisation, in each case for three-year terms taking retroactive effect on 17 March 2005.
Lastly, it (re)appointed a number of board of appeal chairmen and members:
- Mr Uwe SCHAREN (DE), appointed to the Enlarged Board of Appeal as legally qualified external member for a term of three years with effect from 1 October 2005;
- Mr Franz EDLINGER (AT), appointed chairman of a board of appeal and technically qualified member of the Enlarged Board of Appeal with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Reinhard FREIMUTH (DE), appointed chairman of a board of appeal and technically qualified member of the Enlarged Board of Appeal with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Steven PERRYMAN (GB), appointed chairman of a board of appeal with effect from 1 November 2005
- Ms Jacqueline MERCEY (GB), appointed technically qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Bart CLAES (BE), appointed technically qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Christopher DONNELLY (GB), appointed technically qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Alain DUMONT (BE), appointed technically qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Christian KUNZELMANN (CH), appointed technically qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Marc PACI (FR), appointed technically qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Jean-Claude SCHMID (FR), appointed technically qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Alan TEALE (GB), appointed technically qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Michael HARRISON (GB), appointed technically qualified member of the boards, subject to Article 8 ServRegs, with effect from a date between 1 October 2005 and 1 January 2006 to be agreed between him and the President
- Ms Petra SCHMITZ (DE), appointed legally qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Bernhard MÜLLER (DE), appointed legally qualified member of the boards, subject to Article 8 ServRegs, with effect from a date between 1 October 2005 and 1 January 2006 to be agreed between him and the President
- Mr David ROGERS (GB), appointed legally qualified member of the boards, subject to Article 8 ServRegs, with effect from a date between 1 October 2005 and 1 January 2006 to be agreed between him and the President
- Mr Wolfgang SEKRETARUK (DE), appointed legally qualified member of the boards, subject to Article 8 ServRegs, with effect from a date between 1 October 2005 and 1 January 2006 to be agreed between him and the President
- Ms Marie-Bernadette TARDO-DINO (FR), reappointed legally qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 September 2005
- Mr Jean-Pierre SEITZ (FR), reappointed legally qualified member of the boards, the Enlarged Board of Appeal and the Disciplinary Board of Appeal with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Rudolf TESCHEMACHER (DE), reappointed chairman of a technical board of appeal (chemistry) with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Bernhard CZECH (AT), reappointed technically qualified member of a technical board of appeal with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Claude IDEZ (FR), reappointed technically qualified member of a technical board of appeal with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Luigi LI VOTI (IT), reappointed technically qualified member of a technical board of appeal with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Giuseppe SANTAVICCA (IT), reappointed technically qualified member of a technical board of appeal with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Bernward STRUIF (DE), reappointed technically qualified member of a technical board of appeal with effect from 1 October 2005
- Ms Helene PREGLAU (AT), reappointed legally qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Jan VAN MOER (BE), reappointed legally qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 October 2005
- Mr Jean-Michel CANNARD (FR), reappointed technically qualified member of a technical board of appeal with effect from 1 January 2006
- Mr Marco RUGGIU (IT), reappointed technically qualified member of a technical board of appeal with effect from 1 January 2006
- Mr Gérard WEISS (FR), reappointed legally qualified member of the boards with effect from 1 January 2006
The Council agreed to the epi's request for observer status on the Budget and Finance Committee.
On international affairs, the Council was informed that the Republic of Latvia would be joining the European Patent Organisation on 1 July 2005.
The Council noted the report on the Trilateral technical meeting (The Hague, 18 to 20 May 2005) and information about strategic matters discussed by the EPO, USPTO and JPO. Here, several delegations expressed serious reservations regarding the 30-month priority period. The Council also noted a draft agreement to automate the exchange of priority documents between the USPTO and the EPO.
Continuing its "strategy debate on the future of PCT co-operation in Europe", the Council mandated the Office to draw up proposals to establish a system as outlined in the "Madrid statement" (see CA/94/05, "Joint statement on the European patent network", submitted by ten delegations). These proposals could be submitted to the Council at its October 2005 meeting for opinion and at its December 2005 meeting for decision. In parallel, the Council agreed that continued reflection about quality, and common criteria at European level, were needed. The Council also felt that the Office should continue to provide support to develop local IP infrastructures, and approved several co-operation programmes to that end, stressing however that this co-operation should be well-targeted and prioritised in view of the Office's financial situation.
Still on the "strategy debate", the Council decided to postpone, until its June 2006 meeting, the discussion about possible termination of the partnership agreement between the EPO and the Spanish and Swedish Offices.
This 102nd meeting also marked a successful conclusion to the request made by Finland in early 2004, with the Council unanimously approving a working agreement between the Finnish Office and the EPO on co-operation concerning PCT search work. At the same time, the Council formally agreed that as and when it approved a new system as outlined in the "Madrid statement", steps would be taken to terminate the working agreement as from the new system's entry into force.
The Council also unanimously adopted a decision (CA/D 3/05) reducing (under Article 157(3) EPC) the fee for the supplementary European search report where the international search report was drawn up by a national PCT authority in Europe. It formally agreed however that, in the absence of a new system as described in the "Madrid statement", it would be reviewing its position on this fee reduction before 1 July 2008 at the latest.
The Council unanimously approved adaptation of the working agreement with France concerning searches performed by the EPO for national applications from that ex-IIB member state.
On legal affairs, the Council heard an oral report about the 7th meeting of the Working Party on Litigation (held in Munich on the margin of its own meeting) and noted with interest that the European Commission had begun to consider the possibility of reviewing its position on a European Patent Court.
On personnel matters, under Article 25 of the EPO's Protocol on Privileges and Immunities the Council unanimously approved the conclusion and entry into force of an Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the European Patent Organisation on the entitlement of the family members of EPO staff to engage in gainful employment.
On the EPO's internal management, the Council noted with great interest the staff representatives' suggestion that there should be a code of conduct for the EPO.
On financial and budgetary matters, the Council held an initial exchange of views about the results of an external consultant's study of the EPO's financial situation, and agreed that in autumn 2005 it would conduct more detailed discussions which would make it possible to take appropriate decisions and in particular to curb the recent worrying decline in productivity. The 2006 budget and 2007-2010 financial plan should be drafted in the light of that necessity and of the Council's recommendation that in future the Office should focus more on its core activities.