Pages 14-27

II. BUSINESS DISTRIBUTION 2021

II.3 - Business distribution scheme of the Technical Boards of Appeal for 2021

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

A24 (exc. B15);

A43 (exc. D); A44-45;

A47B, C, F, G;

B23;

B60 (exc. L, M); B61 (exc. L);

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

B66 (exc. B);

E01C19, 23;

F21

Board of Appeal 3.2.02

A61 (exc. B1 appeals Txxxx/15, Txxxx/16, Txxxx/17, Txxxx/18, C, F, K, L, M25 exc. appeals Txxxx/15, Txxxx/16, Txxxx/17, Txxxx/18, N, P, Q)

Board of Appeal 3.2.03

B21B; B22;

C10B; C23;

E01 (exc. C19, C23);

E02-04, 21, 99;

F22; 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;

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 (exc. B42D appeals Txxxx/18, Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20);

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, 33;

B65 (exc. H); B67;

C03B; C13B5, 15; C14B;

D21 (exc. C, H)

Board of Appeal 3.2.08

A61B1 (only appeals Txxxx/15, Txxxx/16, Txxxx/17, Txxxx/18);

A61C, F (exc. 13-17);

A61M25 (only appeals Txxxx/15, Txxxx/16, Txxxx/17, Txxxx/18);

B21 (exc. B);

E05-06;

F16B-H; F99

Board of Appeal 3.3.01

A21D; A24B15;

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

A61P;

C13 (exc. B5, 15);

G01N33

Board of Appeal 3.3.02

A01N;

B01D53/00-53/24, D61-71;

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

C09B, D; C10 (exc. B, G, J, L);

C12 (exc. M, N, P, Q);

C40B40/00, 40/04, 40/16, 80/00,

99/00; C99

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. D53/00-53/24, D61-71;

F17; J19-49); B03D; B27K;

C01-02; C03C; C04-06; C21; C22;

C25; C30; C40B40/18;

H01M

Board of Appeal 3.3.06

B01F17; B01J19-49; B32;

C09C; C10G, J, L; 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; C12M, N (exc. N15/82-15/84), P, Q;

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);

C08J;

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);

A61L; A61Q5/06-5/10, 13, 17, 19;

C07B, C; C09 (exc. B, C, D);

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 (exc. 9); G09 (exc. B, F, G); G10, 12, 21, 99;

H01P, Q; H05 (exc. 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;

B42D (only appeals Txxxx/18, Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20);

C40B20/04, 70/00;

F03H;

G01V; G03 (exc. C, F7/00-7/085, 7/42, G9/08-9/135); G06F17/60 (only appeals Txxxx/15, Txxxx/16),

G06Q (only appeals Txxxx/15, Txxxx/16);

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;

G06F17/60 (exc. appeals Txxxx/15, Txxxx/16), G06Q (exc. appeals Txxxx/15, Txxxx/16)

Board of Appeal 3.5.02

B07C; B60L, M;

F23N; F41G;

G04; G07B (exc. 15); G08 (exc. G);

H01B, F, H, K, R, T;

H02 (exc. S), 03 (exc. M), 99;

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

B61L;

G06F3, 19; G07B15; G08G; G16;

H04L (exc. 29)

Board of Appeal 3.5.06

G06 (exc. F3, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 30, 40, K, Q, T); G06K9

Board of Appeal 3.5.07

G06F11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 (exc. 60), 30, 40; G11;

H03M

(2) 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: Juan José de Acha González

TM: Michael Geisenhofer

TM: Hartwich Geuss*

TM: Sophie Mangin

TM: Winfried Marx

TM: Claudio Narcisi

TM: Vincenzo Vinci

TM: Andrea Wagner

LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba

LM: Peter Guntz

LM: Aurélie Jimenez

LM: Olga Loizou

Board of Appeal 3.2.02

Ch: Marco Alvazzi Delfrate

TM: Stephanie Böttcher

TM: David Ceccarelli*

TM: Samuel Dennler

TM: Axel Martinez Möller

TM: Mario Stern

LM: Nikolaus Obrovski

LM: Yvonne Podbielski

LM: Christof Schmidt

Board of Appeal 3.2.03

Ch: Christoph Herberhold

TM: Rafael Baltanás Y Jorge

TM: Vincent Bouyssy

TM: Christopher Donnelly*

TM: Bernd Goers

TM: Bernhard Miller

TM: Guy Patton

LM: Eleni Kossonakou

LM: Nikolaus Obrovski

LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk

Board of Appeal 3.2.04

Ch: Albert de Vries

TM: Sabine Hillebrand

TM: Christian Kujat

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: Philipp Lanz

TM: Matthias Holz

TM: Oliver Randl*

TM: Bettina Spitzer

TM: Tom Vermeulen

LM: Anna Bacchin

LM: Claus-Peter Brandt

LM: Theodora Karamanli

Board of Appeal 3.2.06

Ch: Michael Harrison

TM: Pedro Cipriano

TM: Markus Dorfstätter

TM: Martin Hannam

TM: Thomas Rosenblatt*

LM: Claes Almberg

LM: Jeannine Hoppe

LM: Eleni Kossonakou

LM: Wilhelm Ungler

Board of Appeal 3.2.07

Ch + LM: Ingo Beckedorf

TM: Anja Beckman

TM: Vincenzo Bevilacqua

TM: Antonio Cano Palmero

TM: Benjamin Paul

TM: Andrea Pieracci*

TM: Konstantinos Poalas

TM: Stephanie Watson

LM: Claus-Peter Brandt

LM: Robert Cramer

Board of Appeal 3.2.08

Ch: Paola Acton

TM: Andreas Björklund

TM: Gerhard Buchmann

TM: Matthew Foulger

TM: Michael Olapinski

TM: Christoph Vetter

LM: Yvonne Podbielski

LM: Christof Schmidt*

LM: Petra Schmitz

Board of Appeal 3.3.01

Ch: Albert Lindner

TM: Silke Albrecht

TM: Regina Hauss

TM: José Molina de Alba

TM: Magdalena Pregetter

TM: Teresa Sommerfeld*

LM: Martina Blasi

LM: Lukas Bühler

LM: Paul de Heij

LM: Roberto Romandini

Board of Appeal 3.3.02

Ch: Marcus O. Müller

TM: Samuel Bertrand

TM: Achim Lenzen

TM: Michele Maremonti*

TM: Paul O'Sullivan

LM: Martina Blasi

LM: Lukas Bühler

LM: Paul de Heij

LM: Roberto Romandini

Board of Appeal 3.3.03

Ch: Daniele Semino

TM: Olivier Dury*

(*as from 01.03.2021)

TM: Maxwell Gordon*

(until 28.02.2021)

TM: Damien Marquis

TM: François Rousseau

LM: Anna Bacchin

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: Oskar Lechner

TM: Dulce Luis Alves

TM: Renate Morawetz

TM: Berthold Rutz

TM: Anja Schmitt

LM: Martina Blasi

LM: Lukas Bühler

LM: Paul de Heij

LM: Roberto Romandini

Board of Appeal 3.3.05

Ch: Ernst Bendl

TM: Sonja Besselmann

TM: Thorsten Burkhardt

TM: Guy Glod*

TM: Josef Roider

LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba

LM: Peter Guntz

LM: Olga Loizou

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

Board of Appeal 3.3.06

Ch: Jean-Michel Schwaller

TM: Paolo Ammendola

TM: Sergio Arrojo

TM: Ralf Elsäßer

TM: Luigi Li Voti*

TM: Giuseppe Santavicca

LM: Claus-Peter Brandt

LM: Robert Cramer

LM: Christopher Heath

LM: Jeannine Hoppe

Board of Appeal 3.3.07

Ch: Ambrogio Usuelli

TM: Denis Boulois

TM: Eric Duval

TM: Jennifer Lécaillon

TM: Martin Steendijk

LM: Aurélie Jimenez

LM: Yvonne Podbielski*

LM: Petra Schmitz

Board of Appeal 3.3.08

Ch: Beat Stolz

TM: Pere Julià

TM: Marco Montrone

TM: Daniel Pilat

TM: Maria Rosario Vega Laso*

LM: Anna Bacchin

LM: David Rogers

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

Board of Appeal 3.3.09

Ch: Andreas Haderlein

TM: Markus Ansorge

TM: Francesco Rinaldi*

TM: Andrea Veronese

LM: Fritz Blumer

LM: Eleni Kossonakou

LM: David Rogers

Board of Appeal 3.3.10

Ch: Pascal Gryczka

TM: Matthias Kollmannsberger

TM: Raquel Pérez Carlón*

TM: Jean-Claude Schmid

TM: Armin Zellner

LM: Fritz Blumer

LM: Tamás Bokor

LM: Wim van der Eijk

Board of Appeal 3.4.01

Ch: Paul Scriven

TM: Pascal Fontenay*

TM: Ana Medeiros Gaspar

TM: Bernhard Noll

TM: Torsten Petelski

TM: Thomas Zinke

LM: Claes Almberg

LM: David Rogers

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

Board of Appeal 3.4.02

Ch: Roland Bekkering

TM: André Hornung

TM: Christian Kallinger

TM: Francisco Narganes-Quijano

TM: Hans-Christoph von Gronau

LM: Georg Decker

LM: Theodora Karamanli

LM: Bernhard Müller*

Board of Appeal 3.4.03

Ch: Gunnar Eliasson

TM: Andreas Böhm-Pélissier

TM: Thomas Häusser*

TM: Marc Ley

TM: Emmanuel Papastefanou

TM: Michael Stenger

TM: Judith Thomas

TM: Seamus Ward

LM: Tamás Bokor

LM: Georg Decker

LM: Christopher Heath

LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk

LM: Wim van der Eijk

Board of Appeal 3.5.01

Ch: William Chandler

TM: Luca Falò

TM: Norbert Glaser

TM: Marcus Höhn

TM: Ivayla Kürten

TM: Raimund Moser

TM: Annika Wahrenberg

TM: Wojciech Zubrzycki

LM: Eric Mille

LM: Christof Schmidt

LM: Petra Schmitz*

Board of Appeal 3.5.02

Ch: Richard Lord

TM: Harald Bronold

TM: Gary Flyng*

TM: Fabian Giesen

TM: Claudia Vassoille

LM: Anna Bacchin

LM: Robert Cramer

LM: Jeannine Hoppe

LM: Wilhelm Ungler

Board of Appeal 3.5.03

Ch: Kemal Bengi-Akyuerek

TM: Javier Eraso Helguera

TM: Rolf Gerdes

TM: Karel Peirs

TM: Klaus Schenkel

TM: Timothy Snell*

LM: Claes Almberg

LM: Nikolaus Obrovski

LM: Roberto Romandini

LM: Richard Winkelhofer

Board of Appeal 3.5.04

Ch: Brigitte Willems

TM: Alain Dumont

TM: Benjamin Le Guen

TM: Marc Paci*

TM: Alexander Seeger

LM: Georg Decker

LM: Theodora Karamanli

LM: Bernhard Müller

Board of Appeal 3.5.05

Ch: Andrea Ritzka

TM: Philippe Cretaine*

TM: Eyüp Konak

TM: Peter Tabery

TM: Nikolay Uhlmann

LM: Fritz Blumer

LM: Eric Mille

LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk

Board of Appeal 3.5.06

Ch: Martin Müller

TM: Teodor Alecu

TM: Stefan Krischer

TM: Alan Teale*

TM: Georges Zucka

LM: Aurélie Jimenez

LM: Bernhard Müller

Board of Appeal 3.5.07

Ch + LM: Jean Geschwind

TM: Corinne Barel-Faucheux

TM: Ronald de Man

TM: Michael Jaedicke

TM: Paula San-Bento Furtado*

LM: Eric Mille

Article 3

Composition of the board in a particular appeal

(1) 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 shall designate a technically qualified member from another Board. In so doing he shall obtain the consent of the Chairman of that Board.

(4) If the circumstances of the appeal make it necessary, the Chairman shall designate a legally qualified member from another Board. In so doing he shall obtain the consent of the Chairman of the Legal Board of Appeal.

(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 the board in a particular 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 his Board to replace that member, having regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2.

(2) If a technically qualified member of one of the Boards listed below cannot be replaced in accordance with paragraph 1, the Chairman shall designate a member of one of the Boards of his group as defined below, subject to the agreement of the Chairman of that Board and having regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2:

• Boards 3.2.01, 3.2.03, 3.2.04 and 3.2.07;
• Boards 3.2.02 and 3.2.08;
• Boards 3.3.01, 3.3.04 and 3.3.08;
• Boards 3.3.05 and 3.3.06;
• Boards 3.3.02 and 3.3.10; and
• Boards 3.5.05 and 3.5.07.

(3) If a technically qualified member cannot be replaced in accordance with paragraph 1 or 2, the Chairman shall designate a technically qualified member from another Board. In so doing he shall obtain the consent of the Chairmanof that Board and have regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2.

(4) If a legally qualified member cannot be replaced in accordance with paragraph 1, the Chairman shall designate a legally qualified member from another Board. In so doing he shall obtain the consent of the Chairman of the Legal Board of Appeal and have regard in particular to the criteria indicated in Article 3, paragraph 2.

(5) The President of the Boards of Appeal shall be informed of the application of paragraphs 3 and 4.

Article 5

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 6

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 7

Transitional provisions

Cases in which before 1 January 2021 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 8

Term of validity

This business distribution scheme shall apply from 1 January 2021 until 31 December 2021.

Done at Haar on 16 December 2020

For the Presidium

The Chairman

C. JOSEFSSON