Pages 14-27

II. BUSINESS DISTRIBUTION 2018

II.3 - Business distribution scheme of the Technical Boards of Appeal for the year 2018

The Presidium,

pursuant to Rule 12b, paragraph 4, of the Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention, as amended by decision CA/D 6/16 of the Administrative Council of 30 June 2016, which entered into force on 1 July 2016 (see OJ EPO 2016, A100),

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. L, M); B61 (exc. L);

B62 (exc. B, M); B63-64

B66 (exc. B)

Board of Appeal 3.2.02

A61 (exc. C, F, K, L, N, Q)

Board of Appeal 3.2.03

A43 (exc. D); A44-45;

A47B, C, F, G;

B21B; B22;

C10B; C23;

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);

A43D; A47 (exc. B, C, F, G);

A62 (exc. D); A63, 99;

F02; F03 (exc. H); F04

Board of Appeal 3.2.05

B29, 31, 41-44; B65H; B99;

F15; F16J-T; F17

Board of Appeal 3.2.06

A41-42, 46; A61F13-17;

B62B, M; B66B, 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; C13B5, 15; C14B;

D21 (exc. C, H);

Board of Appeal 3.2.08

A61C, F (exc. 13-17);

B21 (exc. B), 23;

C21, 22, 30;

E05-06;

F16B-H; F99

Board of Appeal 3.3.01

A01N; A21D; A24B15;

A61K31, 35, 36, 41, 45, 48;

C07 (exc. B, C, H21; K1, 2, 14-19);

C09B, D; C10M; C13 (exc. B5, 15);

C40B40/00, 40/04, 40/16, 80/00, 99/00; C99;

G01N33

Board of Appeal 3.3.02

The IPC classes of Board 3.3.02 have been transferred temporarily to Board 3.3.01.

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; C12N15/82-15/84

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

C07H21; C12 (exc. N15/82-15/84);

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 President 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

The members of the individual Technical Boards of Appeal are:1

Board of Appeal 3.2.01

Ch: Giovanni Pricolo

TM: Hartwich Geuss

TM: Winfried Marx

TM: Claudio Narcisi*

TM: vacant

LM: Paul de Heij

LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba

LM: Peter Guntz

LM: Olga Loizou

Board of Appeal 3.2.02

Ch + LM: Eugène Dufrasne

TM: David Ceccarelli

TM: Mario Stern

TM: Pascal Weber*

TM: vacant

Board of Appeal 3.2.03

Ch: Graham Ashley

TM: Vincent Bouyssy

TM: Christopher Donnelly*

TM: Yves Jest

TM: Bernhard Miller

LM: Eleni Kossonakou

LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk

LM: Marie-Bernadette Tardo-Dino

(until 31.03.2018)

LM: Gérard Weiss

Board of Appeal 3.2.04

Ch: Albert de Vries

TM: Erwin Frank*

TM: Gabriel Martin González

TM: Sylvain Oechsner de Coninck

TM: Jonathan Wright

LM: Tamás Bokor

LM: Christopher Heath

LM: Wim van der Eijk

Board of Appeal 3.2.05

Ch: Michael Poock

TM: Steven Bridge*

TM: Philipp Lanz

TM: Oliver Randl

TM: Henk Schram

LM: Jean Geschwind

LM: David Rogers

LM: Gérard Weiss

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

Board of Appeal 3.2.06

Ch: Michael Harrison

TM: Pedro Cipriano

TM: Gabriele de Crignis

TM: Martin Hannam

TM: Thomas Rosenblatt*

LM: Claus-Peter Brandt

LM: Jeannine Hoppe

LM: Marie-Bernadette Tardo-Dino

(until 31.03.2018)

LM: Wilhelm Ungler

Board of Appeal 3.2.07

Ch + LM: Ingo Beckedorf

TM: Vincenzo Bevilacqua

TM: Guy Patton*

TM: Konstantinos Poalas

TM: vacant

Board of Appeal 3.2.08

Ch: Paola Acton

TM: Marco Alvazzi Delfrate*

TM: Matthew Foulger

TM: Christoph Herberhold

TM: vacant

LM: Yvonne Podbielski

LM: Christof Schmidt

LM: Petra Schmitz

Board of Appeal 3.3.01

Ch: Albert Lindner

TM: Regina Hauss

TM: José Molina de Alba

TM: Magdalena Pregetter

TM: Gudrun Seufert*

TM: Teresa Sommerfeld

TM: vacant

TM: vacant

TM: vacant

LM: Martina Blasi

LM: Lukas Bühler

LM: Paul de Heij

Board of Appeal 3.3.02

Ch: vacant

The technical and legal member posts foreseen for Board 3.3.02 have been transferred temporarily to Board 3.3.01.

Board of Appeal 3.3.03

Ch: Daniele Semino

TM: Olivier Dury

TM: Maxwell Gordon*

TM: Damien Marquis

TM: François Rousseau

LM: Claus-Peter Brandt

LM: Robert Cramer

LM: Wilhelm Ungler

Board of Appeal 3.3.04

Ch: Gabriele Alt

TM: Ashok Chakravarty

TM: Bart Claes*

TM: Renate Morawetz

TM: vacant

LM: Martina Blasi

LM: Lukas Bühler

LM: Paul de Heij

LM: Marie-Bernadette Tardo-Dino

(until 31.03.2018)

Board of Appeal 3.3.05

Ch: Ernst Bendl

TM: Herbert Engl*

(until 28.02.2018)

TM: Guy Glod

TM: Andreas Haderlein

TM: Jean-Michel Schwaller*

(*as from 01.03.2018)

TM: vacant

(as from 01.03.2018)

LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba

LM: Peter Guntz

LM: Olga Loizou

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

Board of Appeal 3.3.06

Ch: Bernhard Czech

TM: Paolo Ammendola

TM: Luigi Li Voti*

TM: Michele Maremonti

TM: Giuseppe Santavicca

LM: Claus-Peter Brandt

LM: Robert Cramer

LM: Christopher Heath

LM: Jeannine Hoppe

Board of Appeal 3.3.07

Ch: Joseph Riolo

TM: Denis Boulois

TM: Ambrogio Usuelli*

TM: vacant

TM: vacant

LM: Yvonne Podbielski

LM: Christof Schmidt

LM: Petra Schmitz

Board of Appeal 3.3.08

Ch: Beat Stolz

TM: Pere Julià

TM: Marco Montrone

TM: Maria Rosario Vega Laso*

TM: vacant

LM: Jean Geschwind

LM: David Rogers

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

Board of Appeal 3.3.09

Ch: Werner Sieber

TM: Jesús Jardón Álvarez

TM: Marcus Müller*

TM: Nikolaos Perakis

TM: vacant

LM: Fritz Blumer

LM: Eleni Kossonakou

LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk

Board of Appeal 3.3.10

Ch: Pascal Gryczka

TM: Christine Komenda*

TM: Raquel Pérez Carlón

TM: Jean-Claude Schmid

TM: vacant

LM: Fritz Blumer

LM: Tamás Bokor

LM: Wim van der Eijk

Board of Appeal 3.4.01

Ch: vacant

TM: Pascal Fontenay*

TM: Fiona Neumann

TM: Thomas Zinke

TM: vacant

LM: Jean Geschwind

LM: David Rogers

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

Board of Appeal 3.4.02

Ch: Roland Bekkering

TM: André Hornung

TM: Francisco Narganes-Quijano

TM: Hans-Christoph von Gronau

TM: vacant

LM: Georg Decker

LM: Theodora Karamanli

LM: Bernhard Müller*

Board of Appeal 3.4.03

Ch: Gunnar Eliasson

TM: Thomas Häusser*

TM: Emmanuel Papastefanou

TM: Michael Stenger

TM: Seamus Ward

LM: Tamás Bokor

LM: Christopher Heath

LM: Wim van der Eijk

Board of Appeal 3.5.01

Ch: William Chandler

TM : Norbert Glaser

TM: Marcus Höhn

TM: Paul Scriven

TM: Annika Wahrenberg

LM: Ingo Beckedorf

LM: Yvonne Podbielski

LM: Christof Schmidt

LM: Petra Schmitz*

Board of Appeal 3.5.02

Ch: Richard Lord

TM: Harald Bronold

TM: Gary Flyng*

TM: vacant

TM: vacant

LM: Robert Cramer

LM: Jeannine Hoppe

LM: Wilhelm Ungler

Board of Appeal 3.5.03

Ch: Fred van der Voort

TM: Armin Madenach*

TM Bernhard Noll

TM: Klaus Schenkel

TM: Timothy Snell

LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba

LM: Peter Guntz

LM: Olga Loizou

Board of Appeal 3.5.04

Ch: Christian Kunzelmann

TM: Alain Dumont

TM: Rolf Gerdes

TM: Marc Paci*

TM: Brigitte Willems

LM: Georg Decker

LM: Theodora Karamanli

LM: Bernhard Müller

Board of Appeal 3.5.05

Ch: Andrea Ritzka

TM: Kemal Bengi-Akyuerek

TM: Philippe Cretaine

TM: Eyüp Konak

TM: vacant

LM: Fritz Blumer

LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk

LM: Gérard Weiss*

Board of Appeal 3.5.06

Ch + LM: Wolfgang Sekretaruk

TM: Stefan Krischer

TM: Martin Müller*

TM: Alan Teale

TM: Georges Zucka

Board of Appeal 3.5.07

Ch + LM: Rainer Moufang

TM: Ronald de Man

TM: Paula San-Bento Furtado*

TM: Michael Jaedicke

TM: vacant

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(1).

(5) The President 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 President of the Boards of Appeal shall be informed of the application of paragraphs 2 and 3.

(5) In specific cases, for organisational reasons, the chairmen of each of the following groups of Boards may in mutual agreement amend the composition which was determined according to Article 3 and determine a composition amongst the members of both Boards of their group:
- Boards 3.2.01 and 3.2.07 and
- Boards 3.5.05 and 3.5.07.

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.

(2) For reasons which are essential to the proper functioning of a board, one or more supplementary legally qualified member(s) can be designated to that board.

(3) The following legally qualified members are designated as supplementary members:

Lukas Bühler: 3.2.02

Claus-Peter Brandt: 3.2.07

Georg Decker: 3.4.03

Carl Josefsson: 3.2.04, 3.3.10, 3.5.01

Eleni Kossonakou: 3.2.06

Bernhard Müller: 3.5.06

Article 6

Designation of a replacement member by the President of the Boards of Appeal

If a member of a board cannot be replaced by applying Article 4, the President 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 2018 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 2018 until 31 December 2018.

Done at Munich on 22 December 2017

For the Presidium

The Chairman

C. JOSEFSSON