ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL
Reports on meetings of the Administrative Council
Report on the 117th meeting of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (24 to 26 March 2009)
The Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation held its 117th meeting in Munich from 24 to 26 March 2009 under the chairmanship of Benoît Battistelli (FR).
The chairman extended a particular welcome to the delegation of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which had acceded to the European Patent Convention on 1 January 2009.
After noting the activities report presented by its chairman, the Council elected Jesper Kongstad (DK), Director General of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office and head of the Danish delegation, to serve as its deputy chairman for a three-year term with immediate effect.
Guus Broesterhuizen (NL), President of the Netherlands Patent Office and head of the Netherlands delegation, was elected to serve as chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee for a term of three years, beginning on 10 June 2009. The Council also elected Miklós Benzsel (HU) and Alexandru Cristian Ştrenc (RO) as deputy members of the Supervisory Board of the Academy of the European Patent Organisation for a three-year term.
The Council then appointed Brigitte Günzel (DE), Richard Menapace (AT) and Christopher Rennie-Smith (GB) as legally qualified members of the Disciplinary Board of Appeal with effect from 1 January 2010, and re-appointed Paul Alting van Geusau (NL) and Peter Kitzmantel (AT) as chairmen of a board of appeal and technically qualified members of the Enlarged Board of Appeal with effect from 1 October 2009. Tamás Bokor (HU) and Peter Mühlens (DE) were reappointed as legally qualified members of the boards of appeal with effect from 1 October 2009. Graham Ashley (GB), Wolfgang Ehrenreich (DE), Maxwell Gordon (GB), Jesús Jardón Álvarez (ES), Yves Jest (FR), Claudio Narcisi (IT), Michael Poock (DE), Andrea Ritzka (DE) and Pascal Weber were reappointed technically qualified members of the boards of appeal with effect from 1 October 2009; Ulrich Krause (DE) was re-appointed chairman of a board of appeal and technically qualified member of the Enlarged Board of Appeal with effect from 1 January 2010; Herbert Engl (AT) and Jean-Michel Schwaller (FR) were reappointed as technically qualified members of the boards of appeal with effect from 1 January 2010.
The Council unanimously authorised the President of the Office to open the procedure to fill the post of Vice-President DG 4, with the intention of making an appointment at its meeting in June 2009. It also agreed that the procedure for the post of Vice-President DG 5 should be opened immediately after the June session, in order that an appointment could be made in October.
The Council unanimously approved a proposal setting out a revised mandate for the Working Party on Technical Information, with effect from 1 May 2009. The body is also to be renamed "Technical and Operational Support Committee", to reflect its functions more accurately.
Under legal and international affairs, the Council noted the oral report of the chairman of the Committee on Patent Law, Mihály Ficsor (HU) on the 36th meeting of the Committee, held in Munich on 2 and 3 February 2009, as well as the status report on the Community patent delivered by the Czech delegation, representing the state holding the EU presidency in the first half of 2009.
After noting the recent findings of the Committee on Patent Law and the Office's response to the Committee's comments, the Council approved a decision amending the arrangements under the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention for filing divisional applications. From 1 April 2010, the filing of "voluntary" divisional applications will be subject to a time limit of 24 months from the first communication by the EPO Examining Division in respect of the parent (i.e. the previous) or an even earlier (in case of a "chain" of applications) application. "Mandatory" divisional applications, arising from a non-unity objection, will also have to be filed within 24 months of the communication in which the relevant objection is raised by the Examining Division for the first time.
In the same connection, the Council approved a number of further amendments to the Implementing Regulations aimed at improving the quality of incoming patent applications and streamlining the grant procedure.
The Council also noted a proposal, submitted by a group of delegations, for the introduction of a deferred examination regime for European patent applications.
Concerning financial and budget matters, the Council held a wide-ranging exchange of views on fee reform and the sustainable financing of the European patent system. It noted a number of reports analysing the Office's existing cost structure and outlining possibilities of modification to ensure the longer-term financial viability of the system while respecting public policy considerations, and agreed that the debate on these issues should continue, on the basis of concrete action proposals from the Office.
On personnel policy matters, the Council noted the Office's comments on the recently initiated discussion of possible reforms to the mechanisms and procedures for staff appeals against administrative decisions.
Finally, the Council paid tribute to its former chairman, Roland Grossenbacher (CH), head of the Swiss delegation, and unanimously decided that he should henceforth bear the title "Honorary Chairman of the Administrative Council".