II. BUSINESS DISTRIBUTION SCHEMES OF THE BOARDS OF APPEAL 2015
II.3 - Business distribution scheme of the Technical Boards of Appeal applicable until 31 March 20151
The Presidium,
pursuant to Rule 12, paragraph 4, of the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention,
having regard to Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal,
hereby adopts the following business distribution scheme:
Article 1
Allocation of appeals to the Technical Boards of Appeal
(1) Appeals shall be allocated to the Boards on the basis of the main classification of the International Patent Classification attributed to the application or patent at the time of filing of the appeal as follows:
Board of Appeal 3.2.01
B60 (exc. C, L, M); B61 (exc. L);
B62 (exc. B, M); B63-64
Board of Appeal 3.2.02
A61 (exc. C, F, K, L, N, Q)
Board of Appeal 3.2.03
B21B; B22;
E01-04, 21, 99;
F21-22; F23 (exc. N); F24-28;
F41 (exc. G); F42
Board of Appeal 3.2.04
A01 (exc. H, K67, N); A21 (exc. D);
A22; A23N; A24 (exc. B15);
A43-45, 47; A62 (exc. D); A63, 99;
F02; F03 (exc. H); F04
Board of Appeal 3.2.05
B29, 31, 41-44; B65H; B99;
D21 (exc. C, H);
F15; F16J-T; F17
Board of Appeal 3.2.06
A41-42, 46; A61F13-17;
B21 (exc. B), 23; B60C; B62B, M;
B66, 68;
C40B60;
D01 (exc. C, F); D02-05;
D06 (exc. L-Q); D07, 99;
F01
Board of Appeal 3.2.07
B02; B03 (exc. D); B04-05;
B07 (exc. C); B08-09, 24-26;
B27 (exc. K); B28, 30;
B65 (exc. H); B67;
C03B; C10B; C13B5, 15; C14B; C23
Board of Appeal 3.2.08
A61C, F (exc. 13-17);
C21, 22, 30;
E05-06;
F16B-H; F99
Board of Appeal 3.3.01
A01N; A61K31 (only appeals filed in 2010 and 50% of the appeals filed in 2011 according to the highest T-number, which were pending on 01.01.2014);
C07 (exc. B, C, H21; K1, 2, 14-19);
C09B, D; C10M; C40B40/00, 40/04, 40/16, 80/00, 99/00; C99
Board of Appeal 3.3.02
A21D; A24B15; A61K31 (excluding appeals filed in 2010 and 50% of the appeals filed in 2011, according to the highest T-number, which were pending on 01.01.2014),
35, 36, 41, 45, 48; C07H21;
C12 (exc. N1-7, 15; Q1/68-3/00);
C13 (exc. B5, 15);
G01N33
Board of Appeal 3.3.03
C08 (exc. J); C40B20/02, 40/12, 40/14
Board of Appeal 3.3.04
A01H; A01K67; A61K38, 39;
C07K1, 2, 14-19
Board of Appeal 3.3.05
A62D; B01 (exc. D3, 15/08-15/42, 53/00-53/24,
61-71; F17; J19-49); B03D; B27K;
C01-02; C03C; C04-06; C25;
C40B40/18;
H01M
Board of Appeal 3.3.06
A61Q19/10; A61K8 (in so far as the supplementary classification is A61Q19/10);
B01D3, 15/08-15/42, 53/00-53/24, 61-71; B01F17; B01J19-49;
C09C; C10 (exc. B, M); C11; C14C;
D01C, F; D06L-Q; D21C, H;
G03C
Board of Appeal 3.3.07
A61K7/00-7/38 (exc. 7/11-7/135);
A61K8 (in so far as the supplementary classification is A61Q1/00-5/04, 5/12-11/02, 15, 90);
A61K6, 9, 33, 47, 49-51, 101-135;
A61Q1/00-5/04, 5/12-11/02, 15, 90
Board of Appeal 3.3.08
C12N1-7, 15; C12Q 1/68-3/00;
C40B10/00, 30/04-30/08, 40/02, 40/06-40/10, 50/06, 50/10, 50/16
Board of Appeal 3.3.09
A23 (exc. N);
B32;
C08J; C09J;
G03F7/00-7/085, 7/42;
G03G9/08-9/135;
H01L51/00, 51/30, 51/46, 51/54;
H01S3/14-3/227
Board of Appeal 3.3.10
A61K7/11-7/135, 7/40-7/48;
A61K8 (in so far as the supplementary classification is A61Q5/06-5/10, 13, 17, 19/00-19/08);
A61L; A61Q5/06-5/10, 13, 17, 19/00-19/08;
C07B, C; C09 (exc. B, C, D, J);
C40B50/00, 50/04, 50/08, 50/12, 50/14, 50/18
Board of Appeal 3.4.01
A61N;
C40B20/08, 30/10;
G01P, R, S, T; G06K; G09 (exc. B, F, G);
G10, 12, 21, 99;
H01P, Q; H05 (exc. B, F, G, K)
Board of Appeal 3.4.02
B81-82;
G01B-N (exc. N33); G01Q; G01W; G02; H05G
Board of Appeal 3.4.03
B06;
C40B20/04, 70/00;
F03H;
G01V; G03 (exc. C, F7/00-7/085, 7/42, G9/08-9/135);
G07 (exc. B); G09B, F, G;
H01C, G, J, L (exc. 51/00, 51/30, 51/46, 51/54),
S (exc. 3/14-3/227);
H02S; H05F, K
Board of Appeal 3.5.01
C40B20/00, 20/06, 30/00, 30/02, 50/02;
G06F11, 12, 13, 15, 17/60, G06Q
Board of Appeal 3.5.02
B07C; B60L, M; B61L;
F23N; F41G;
G04; G07B; G08;
H01B, F, H, K, R, T; H02 (exc. S), 03 (exc. M), 99;
H05B
Board of Appeal 3.5.03
G05; H04 (exc. L 1-27, N)
Board of Appeal 3.5.04
G06T; H04N
Board of Appeal 3.5.05
G06F3, 19;
H04L (exc. 29)
Board of Appeal 3.5.06
G06 (exc. F3, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19; K, Q, T)
Board of Appeal 3.5.07
G06F17 (exc. 60); G11; H03M.
(2) If, because of an uneven development of the workload of the Boards, or for other good reasons, it proves necessary to amend the distribution according to paragraph 1 during the year, the Vice-President in charge of the Boards of Appeal may, in agreement with the Chairmen of the Boards concerned, order it. If agreement cannot be reached, the Presidium shall decide.
(3) If because of the technical content of an appeal it is appropriate to allocate it otherwise than as provided by paragraph 1, the Chairmen of the Boards concerned shall endeavour to reach agreement on the allocation, failing which the Presidium shall decide.
Article 2
Allocation of members to the Technical Boards of Appeal
(1) The members of the individual Technical Boards of Appeal are:2
Board of Appeal 3.2.01
Giovanni Pricolo
(Chairman),
Yves Lemblé*,
Claudio Narcisi,
Hartwich Geuss,
Winfried Marx,
Peter Guntz
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Sofía Fernández de Córdoba
(legally qualified member, 1/3)
and Olga Loizou
(legally qualified member, 1/3).
Board of Appeal 3.2.02
Eugène Dufrasne
(Chairman and
legally qualified member, 3/3),
Pascal Weber*,
Christoph Körber,
Lukas Bühler
(legally qualified member),
Mario Stern
and David Ceccarelli.
Board of Appeal 3.2.03
Graham Ashley
(Chairman),
Marie-Bernadette Tardo-Dino
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Yves Jest,
Christopher Donnelly*,
Dorothea Prietzel-Funk
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Eleni Kossonakou
(legally qualified member, 1/3)
and Vincent Bouyssy.
Board of Appeal 3.2.04
Albert de Vries
(Chairman),
Tamás Bokor
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Christopher Heath
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Erwin Frank*,
Christof Schmidt
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Jonathan Wright
and Sylvain Oechsner de Coninck.
Board of Appeal 3.2.05
Michael Poock
(Chairman),
Martin Vogel
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Gérard Weiss
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Henk Schram,
Steven Bridge*,
Jean Geschwind
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Philipp Lanz
and Oliver Randl.
Board of Appeal 3.2.06
Michael Harrison
(Chairman),
Marie-Bernadette Tardo-Dino
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Gabriele de Crignis,
Thomas Rosenblatt*,
Eleni Kossonakou
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Martin Hannam
and Wilhelm Ungler
(legally qualified member, 1/3).
Board of Appeal 3.2.07
Hugo Meinders
(Chairman),
Gérard Weiss
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Konstantinos Poalas*,
Heinrich Hahn,
Ingo Beckedorf
(legally qualified member),
Claus-Peter Brandt
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Robert Cramer
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Guy Patton
and Vincenzo Bevilacqua.
Board of Appeal 3.2.08
Thomas Kriner
(Chairman),
Petra Schmitz
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Ingo Beckedorf*
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Paola Acton,
Marco Alvazzi Delfrate,
David Keeling
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Christoph Herberhold
and Matthew Foulger.
Board of Appeal 3.3.01
Albert Lindner
(Chairman),
Kevin Garnett
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Martin Radke*,
Gudrun Seufert,
Lukas Bühler
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Liza Seymour
and Martina Blasi
(legally qualified member, 1/3).
Board of Appeal 3.3.02
Ulrich Oswald
(Chairman),
Maria del Carmen Ortega Plaza*,
Herbert Kellner,
Lukas Bühler
(legally qualified member, 2/3),
Katharina Giebeler,
Teresa Sommerfeld
and Martina Blasi
(legally qualified member, 1/3).
Board of Appeal 3.3.03
Bianca ter Laan
(Chairman),
Maxwell Gordon*,
François Rousseau,
Claus-Peter Brandt
(legally qualified member, 2/3),
Olivier Dury,
Robert Cramer
(legally qualified member, 1/3)
and Damien Marquis.
Board of Appeal 3.3.04
Gabriele Alt
(Chairman),
Marie-Bernadette Tardo-Dino
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Kevin Garnett
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Bart Claes*,
Renate Morawetz,
Marco Montrone,
Martina Blasi
(legally qualified member, 1/3)
and Ashok Chakravarty.
Board of Appeal 3.3.05
Gaston Raths
(Chairman),
Herbert Engl*,
Jean-Michel Schwaller,
Claude Vallet
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Peter Guntz
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Guy Glod,
Andreas Haderlein
and Olga Loizou
(legally qualified member, 1/3).
Board of Appeal 3.3.06
Bernhard Czech
(Chairman),
Luigi Li Voti*,
Giuseppe Santavicca,
Paolo Ammendola,
Ursula Lokys
(legally qualified member, 2/3),
Ernst Bendl
and Sofía Fernández de Córdoba
(legally qualified member, 1/3).
Board of Appeal 3.3.07
Joseph Riolo
(Chairman),
Petra Schmitz
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Ingo Beckedorf
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Daniele Semino*,
David Keeling
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Regina Hauss,
Denis Boulois
and Ambrogio Usuelli.
Board of Appeal 3.3.08
Manfred Wieser
(Chairman),
Pere Julià*,
Maria Rosario Vega Laso,
David Rogers
(legally qualified member, 2/3),
Jean Geschwind
(legally qualified member, 1/3)
and Beat Stolz.
Board of Appeal 3.3.09
Werner Sieber
(Chairman),
Wolfgang Ehrenreich*,
Jesús Jardón Álvarez,
Nikolaos Perakis,
Fritz Blumer
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Marcus Müller,
Dorothea Prietzel-Funk
(legally qualified member, 1/3)
and Eleni Kossonakou
(legally qualified member, 1/3).
Board of Appeal 3.3.10
Pascal Gryczka
(Chairman),
Tamás Bokor
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Jacqueline Mercey*,
Jean-Claude Schmid,
Christine Komenda,
Fritz Blumer
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Raquel Pérez Carlón
and Christof Schmidt
(legally qualified member, 1/3).
Board of Appeal 3.4.01
Gianni Assi
(Chairman),
Martin Vogel
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Herbert Wolfrum*,
David Rogers
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Pascal Fontenay,
Fiona Neumann,
Jean Geschwind
(legally qualified member, 1/3)
and Thomas Zinke.
Board of Appeal 3.4.02
vacant
(Chairman),
Alphonsus Maaswinkel,
Francisco Narganes-Quijano,
Bernhard Müller*
(legally qualified member, 1/2),
Theodora Karamanli
(legally qualified member, 1/2),
Hans-Christoph von Gronau
and André Hornung.
Board of Appeal 3.4.03
Gunnar Eliasson
(Chairman),
Victor Frank*,
Roland Bekkering,
Tamás Bokor
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Christopher Heath
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Thomas Häusser,
Christof Schmidt
(legally qualified member, 1/3)
and Seamus Ward.
Board of Appeal 3.5.01
vacant
(Chairman),
Rüdiger Zimmermann*,
William Chandler,
Konrad Bumes,
Petra Schmitz
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Ingo Beckedorf
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Paul Scriven
and David Keeling
(legally qualified member, 1/3).
Board of Appeal 3.5.02
Marco Ruggiu
(Chairman),
Peter Mühlens
(legally qualified member, 2/3;
until 28.02.2015),
Gary Flyng,
Richard Lord*,
Robert Cramer
(legally qualified member, 1/3;
as from 01.03.2015),
Michel Léouffre,
Wilhelm Ungler
(legally qualified member, 1/3;
as from 01.03.2015: 2/3)
and Harald Bronold.
Board of Appeal 3.5.03
Fred van der Voort
(Chairman),
Armin Madenach*,
Timothy Snell,
Bernhard Noll,
Peter Guntz
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Klaus Schenkel,
Sofía Fernández de Córdoba
(legally qualified member, 1/3)
and Olga Loizou
(legally qualified member, 1/3).
Board of Appeal 3.5.04
Franz Edlinger
(Chairman),
Alain Dumont**
(**exempt from his duties as a member
of the Board of Appeal as from
01.07.2014),
Christian Kunzelmann*,
Bernhard Müller
(legally qualified member, 1/2),
Marc Paci,
Theodora Karamanli
(legally qualified member, 1/2)
and Rolf Gerdes.
Board of Appeal 3.5.05
Andrea Ritzka
(Chairman),
Gérard Weiss*
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Patrick Corcoran,
Marcus Höhn,
Fritz Blumer
(legally qualified member, 1/3),
Philippe Cretaine,
Dorothea Prietzel-Funk
(legally qualified member, 1/3)
and Kemal Bengi-Akyuerek.
Board of Appeal 3.5.06
Wolfgang Sekretaruk
(Chairman and
legally qualified member, 3/3),
Alan Teale,
Martin Müller*,
Georges Zucka
and Stefan Krischer.
Board of Appeal 3.5.07
Rainer Moufang
(Chairman and
legally qualified member, 3/3),
Mario Rognoni*,
Paula San-Bento Furtado
and Ronald de Man.
(2) The following legally qualified member is to be designated to participate for all Boards of Appeal in protests under the PCT:
Tamás Bokor.
Article 3
Composition of the board for a particular appeal
(1) On receipt of an appeal by the registry, the Chairman shall determine the composition of the board responsible for deciding it from amongst the Board members.
(2) In determining the composition the Chairman shall in particular take account of the workload of each member and the technical and language requirements of the case.
(3) If the circumstances of the appeal make it necessary, the Chairman may designate a technically qualified member from another Board. In so doing he shall procure the consent of the Chairman of that Board.
(4) If the circumstances of the appeal make it necessary, the Chairman may designate a legally qualified member who is not a member of the Board. The procedure to be followed is laid down in Article 5.
(5) The Vice-President in charge of the Boards of Appeal shall be informed of the application of paragraphs 3 and 4.
Article 4
Change of composition of a board of appeal
(1) If a member designated pursuant to Article 3 or 4 cannot or can no longer participate in the case, or if a change in the business distribution scheme occasions it, the Chairman shall designate another member of the Board to replace that member, having regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2.
(2) If a technically qualified member cannot be replaced by another member of the Board, the Chairman shall designate a technically qualified member who is a member of a Board in a neighbouring technical field. In so doing he shall procure the consent of the chairman of that Board and have regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2.
(3) If a legally qualified member cannot be replaced by another legally qualified member of the Board, the Chairman shall designate a legally qualified member in accordance with Article 5.
(4) The Vice-President in charge of the Boards of Appeal shall be informed of the application of paragraphs 2 and 3.
Article 5
Designation of legally qualified members who are not members of the Board
(1) The designation of legally qualified members in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 4, and Article 4, paragraph 3, shall proceed in the following order:
(a) in each case, that legally qualified member is called upon whose most recent designation occurred longest ago. For newly appointed legally qualified members the day on which they assumed office shall be regarded as a notional designation. If members rank the same in time they shall be called upon in alphabetical order;
(b) if a legally qualified member resulting from the application of sub-paragraph (a) is prevented from participating, or cannot in the opinion of the Chairman be called upon taking into account the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2, or when applying Article 7, the next following member according to sub-paragraph (a) shall be called upon.
Article 6
Designation of a replacement member by the Vice-President
If a member of a board cannot be replaced by applying Article 4, the Vice-President in charge of the Boards of Appeal shall designate the replacement member.
Article 7
Composition of the board where a number of appeals are closely linked
Where appeals pending before the Board are closely linked, in particular by involving similar legal or factual questions, the Chairman may order that the board shall decide in the same composition.
Article 8
Transitional provisions
Cases in which before 1 January 2015 a communication has been sent or oral proceedings have been appointed shall not be affected by this business distribution scheme, nor shall those cases individually allocated in transitional provisions of previous business distribution schemes. This provision applies mutatis mutandis if the business distribution scheme is amended during the working year.
Article 9
Term of validity
This business distribution scheme shall apply from 1 January 2015 until 31 March 2015.
Done at Munich on 18 December 2014
For the Presidium
The Chairman
W. VAN DER EIJK