II. BUSINESS DISTRIBUTION 2023
II.3 - Business distribution scheme of the Technical Boards of Appeal for 2023
The Presidium,
pursuant to Rule 12b, paragraph 4, to the Implementing Regulations of the European Patent Convention,
having regard to Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal,
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;
A61F2/24; A61M5/178-5/34;
B23;
B60 (exc. L, M); B61 (exc. L);
B62 (exc. B, M); B63-64;
B66 (exc. B);
E01C19, 23; E21;
F21;
F41 (exc. G); F42
Board of Appeal 3.2.02
A61 (exc. C, F, K, L, M5/178-5/34, N, P, Q)
Board of Appeal 3.2.03
B21B; B22;
C10B; C23;
E01 (exc. C19, 23);
E02-04, 99;
F22; F23 (exc. N); F24-28
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 (exc. C49 appeals Txxxx/17, Txxxx/18, Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20; exc. C51 appeals Txxxx/17, Txxxx/18, Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20), 31, 41-44 (exc. B42D appeals Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20);
B65H; B99;
F15; F16J-T (exc. L appeals Txxxx/18, Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20); F17
Board of Appeal 3.2.06
A41-42, 46; A61F13-17;
B62B, M; B66B, 68;
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, B29C49 (only appeals Txxxx/17, Txxxx/18, Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20), B29C51 (only appeals Txxxx/17, Txxxx/18, Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20), 30, 33;
B65 (exc. H); B67;
C03B; C13B5, 15; C14B;
D21 (exc. C, H);
F16L (only appeals Txxxx/18, Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20)
Board of Appeal 3.2.08
A61C, F (exc. 2/24, 13-17);
B21 (exc. B);
E05-06;
F16B-H; F99
Board of Appeal 3.3.01
–
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);
C99
Board of Appeal 3.3.03
C08 (exc. J)
Board of Appeal 3.3.04
A01H; A01K67; A61K31/00-31/375 (exc. appeal T0787/16), 31/40 (only appeal T2048/19), 31/41 (only appeal T2157/21), 31/42 (only appeal T0242/22), 31/454 (only appeal T2044/19), 31/46 (only appeal T0669/22), 31/485 (only appeal T0809/16), 31/517 (only appeal T0477/19), 31/57 (only appeal T0642/19), 31/7016 (only appeal T2049/22), 31/7105 (only appeals T1087/19, T1435/20, T1515/20), 36, 38, 39 (exc. appeals T0835/21, T1006/21, T1289/21, T1589/21), 41, 45 (exc. appeal T1126/19, 48 (exc. appeal T0325/19);
C07K1, 2, 14-19; C12N15/82-15/84
G01N33 (only appeals T2046/19, T0066/20)
Board of Appeal 3.3.05
A62D;
B01 (exc. D53/00-53/24; D61-71; J19-49);
B03D; B27K;
C01-02; C03C; C04-06; C21; C22;
C25; C30;
H01M
Board of Appeal 3.3.06
B01J19-49; B32;
C09C; C10G, J, L; C11; C14C;
D01C, F; D06L-Q; D21C, H;
G03C
Board of Appeal 3.3.07
A61K6, 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);
A61K9, 31 (exc. 31/00-31/375, without T0787/16 ; exc. appeals T0809/16, T0477/19, T0642/19, T1087/19, T2044/19, T2048/19, T1435/20, T1515/20, T2157/21, T0242/22, T0669/22, T2049/22), 33, 35, 45 (only appeal T1126/19), 47, 49-51, 101-135;
A61P;
A61Q1/00-5/04, 5/12-11/02, 15, 90
Board of Appeal 3.3.08
A61K39 (only appeals T0835/21, T1006/21, T1289/21, T1589/21), 48 (only appeal T0325/19)
C07H21; C12M, N (exc. N15/82-15/84), P, Q;
C40B;
G01N33 (exc. appeals T2046/19, T0066/20)
Board of Appeal 3.3.09
A21D;
A23 (exc. N);
A24B15;
C08J;
C13 (exc. B5, 15);
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)
Board of Appeal 3.4.01
A61N;
G01P, R, S, T; G06K (exc. 9); G09 (exc. B, F, G); G10, 12, 21, 99;
H01P, Q; H05 (exc. B appeals Txxxx/19, without T0294/19, T0730/19, T1356/19, T1690/19, T1691/19, T2933/19, F, G, K)
Board of Appeal 3.4.02
B81-82;
G01B-N (exc. N33); G01Q; G01W; G02;
G07C (only appeals Txxxx/18, Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20, Txxxx/21);
G09B (only appeals Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20, Txxxx/21);
G09G (only appeals Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20, Txxxx/21);
H05B (only appeals Txxxx/19, without T0294/19, T0730/19, T1356/19, T1690/19, T1691/19, T2933/19), G
Board of Appeal 3.4.03
B06;
B42D (only appeals Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20);
F03H;
G01V; G03 (exc. C, F7/00-7/085, 7/42, G9/08-9/135);
G06Q (only appeals Txxxx/16, Txxxx/19);
G07 (exc. B, C (only appeals Txxxx/18, Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20, Txxxx/21)); G09B (exc. appeals Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20, Txxxx/21), F,
G (exc. appeals Txxxx/19, Txxxx/20, Txxxx/21);
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
G06F17/60, G06Q (exc. appeals Txxxx/16, Txxxx/19)
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;
H03M;
H04 (exc. L 1-27, N)
Board of Appeal 3.5.04
G06T;
H04N
Board of Appeal 3.5.05
B61L;
G06F3, 12, 13, 19; G07B15; G08G; G16;
H04L (exc. 29, 41-101)
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, 15, 16, 17 (exc. 60), 30, 40; G11
(2) If
(a) because of the technical content of an appeal or
(b) for the purpose of balancing out the workload of Boards,
it is appropriate to allocate the appeal or a group of appeals otherwise than as provided by paragraph 1, the Chairs of the Boards concerned shall endeavour to reach agreement on the allocation, failing which the Presidium shall decide.
The parties concerned by such a reallocation shall be informed in writing.
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: Claudio Narcisi
TM: Juan José de Acha González
TM: Sophie Mangin
TM: Vincenzo Vinci
TM: Michael Geisenhofer
TM: Andrea Wagner
LM: Peter Guntz
LM: Olga Loizou
LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba
LM: Aurélie Jimenez
Board of Appeal 3.2.02
Ch: Marco Alvazzi Delfrate
TM: David Ceccarelli*
TM: Stephanie Böttcher
TM: Samuel Dennler
TM: Axel Martinez Möller
LM: Christof Schmidt
LM: Yvonne Podbielski
LM: Nikolaus Obrovski
Board of Appeal 3.2.03
Ch: Christoph Herberhold
TM: Guy Patton*
(until 30.04.2023)
TM: Bernhard Miller
(* as from 01.05.2023)
TM: Rafael Baltanás Y Jorge
TM: Bernd Goers
LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk
LM: Nikolaus Obrovski
LM: Frédéric Bostedt
Board of Appeal 3.2.04
Ch: Albert de Vries
TM: Jonathan Wright
TM: Sylvain Oechsner de Coninck
TM: Gabriel Martin González
TM: Christian Kujat
TM: Sabine Hillebrand
LM: Christopher Heath*
LM: Tamás Bokor
LM: Claes Almberg
LM: Karoline Kerber-Zubrzycka
Board of Appeal 3.2.05
Ch: Philipp Lanz
TM: Oliver Randl*
TM: Tom Vermeulen
TM: Bettina Spitzer
TM: Matthias Holz
LM: Theodora Karamanli
LM: Claus-Peter Brandt
(until 30.06.2023)
LM: Fritz Blumer
LM: Martina Blasi
Board of Appeal 3.2.06
Ch: Michael Harrison
TM: Thomas Rosenblatt*
TM: Martin Hannam
TM: Pedro Cipriano
TM: Markus Dorfstätter
LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk
LM: Wilhelm Ungler
LM: Jeannine Hoppe
Board of Appeal 3.2.07
Ch + LM: Ingo Beckedorf
(until 30.04.2023)
Ch: Guy Patton
(as from 01.05.2023)
TM: Anja Beckman*
TM: Vincenzo Bevilacqua
TM: Andrea Pieracci
TM: Antonio Cano Palmero
TM: Stephanie Watson
TM: Benjamin Paul
LM: Claus-Peter Brandt
(until 30.06.2023)
LM: Robert Cramer
LM: Yvonne Podbielski
LM: Eric Mille
Board of Appeal 3.2.08
Ch: Paola Acton
TM: Matthew Foulger
TM: Andreas Björklund
TM: Gerhard Buchmann
TM: Michael Olapinski
TM: Christoph Vetter
LM: Christof Schmidt*
LM: Frédéric Bostedt
Board of Appeal 3.3.01
–
Board of Appeal 3.3.02
Ch: Marcus O. Müller
TM: Michele Maremonti*
TM: Paul O'Sullivan
TM: Achim Lenzen
TM: Samuel Bertrand
LM: Lukas Bühler
LM: Martina Blasi
LM: Paul de Heij
(until 28.02.2023)
LM: Roberto Romandini
Board of Appeal 3.3.03
Ch: Daniele Semino
TM: Olivier Dury*
TM: François Rousseau
TM: Damien Marquis
TM: Matthieu Barrère
LM: Claus-Peter Brandt
(until 30.06.2023)
LM: Robert Cramer
LM: Wilhelm Ungler
LM: Anna Bacchin
LM: Laurence Basterreix
Board of Appeal 3.3.04
Ch: Magdalena Pregetter
TM: Regina Hauss*
TM: Ashok Chakravarty
TM: Silke Albrecht
TM: Dulce Luis Alves
TM: Berthold Rutz
TM: Oskar Lechner
LM: Lukas Bühler
LM: Martina Blasi
LM: Paul de Heij
(until 28.02.2023)
LM: Roberto Romandini
LM: Anna Bacchin
Board of Appeal 3.3.05
Ch: Ernst Bendl
TM: Guy Glod*
TM: Thorsten Burkhardt
TM: Sonja Besselmann
TM: Josef Roider
LM: Peter Guntz
LM: Olga Loizou
LM: Sofía Fernández de Córdoba
LM: Richard Winkelhofer
Board of Appeal 3.3.06
Ch: Jean-Michel Schwaller
TM: Luigi Li Voti*
TM: Paolo Ammendola
TM: Sergio Arrojo
TM: Ralf Elsäßer
LM: Christopher Heath
LM: Claus-Peter Brandt
(until 30.06.2023)
LM: Robert Cramer
LM: Jeannine Hoppe
Board of Appeal 3.3.07
Ch: Ambrogio Usuelli
TM: Denis Boulois
TM: José Molina de Alba
TM: Eric Duval
TM: Martin Steendijk
TM: Jennifer Lécaillon
LM: Yvonne Podbielski*
LM: Aurélie Jimenez
LM: Laurence Basterreix
Board of Appeal 3.3.08
Ch: Teresa Sommerfeld
TM: Maria Rosario Vega Laso*
(until 28.02.2023)
TM: Bart Claes
(* as from 01.03.2023)
TM: Pere Julià
(until 30.06.2023)
TM: Renate Morawetz
TM: Marco Montrone
TM: Daniel Pilat
TM: Anja Schmitt
LM: David Rogers
LM: Lukas Bühler
LM: Richard Winkelhofer
LM: Anna Bacchin
LM: Karoline Kerber-Zubrzycka
Board of Appeal 3.3.09
Ch: Andreas Haderlein
TM: Francesco Rinaldi*
TM: Andrea Veronese
TM: Markus Ansorge
TM: Christian Meiners
LM: Aurélie Jimenez
LM: Roberto Romandini
LM: Nikolaus Obrovski
Board of Appeal 3.3.10
Ch: Pascal Gryczka
TM: Raquel Pérez Carlón*
TM: Jean-Claude Schmid
TM: Matthias Kollmannsberger
TM: Armin Zellner
LM: Tamás Bokor
LM: Fritz Blumer
LM: Laurence Basterreix
Board of Appeal 3.4.01
Ch: Paul Scriven
TM: Pascal Fontenay*
TM: Bernhard Noll
TM: Thomas Zinke
TM: Torsten Petelski
TM: Ana Medeiros Gaspar
LM: David Rogers
LM: Richard Winkelhofer
Board of Appeal 3.4.02
Ch: Roland Bekkering
TM: Francisco Narganes-Quijano
TM: Hans-Christoph von Gronau
(until 31.03.2023)
TM: André Hornung
TM: Christian Kallinger
LM: Bernhard Müller*
LM: Theodora Karamanli
LM: Georg Decker
LM: Claes Almberg
Board of Appeal 3.4.03
Ch: Thomas Häusser
TM: Michael Stenger
TM: Emmanuel Papastefanou
TM: Judith Thomas
TM: Andreas Böhm-Pélissier
TM: Marc Ley
LM: Tamás Bokor*
LM: Theodora Karamanli
LM: Dorothea Prietzel-Funk
LM: Georg Decker
Board of Appeal 3.5.01
Ch: William Chandler
TM: Marcus Höhn*
TM: Norbert Glaser
TM: Annika Wahrenberg
TM: Wojciech Zubrzycki
TM: Raimund Moser
TM: Luca Falò
TM: Ivayla Kürten
LM: David Rogers
LM: Christof Schmidt
LM: Eric Mille
LM: Laurence Basterreix
Board of Appeal 3.5.02
Ch: Richard Lord
TM: Gary Flyng*
TM: Harald Bronold
TM: Fabian Giesen
TM: Claudia Vassoille
LM: Robert Cramer
LM: Wilhelm Ungler
LM: Jeannine Hoppe
Board of Appeal 3.5.03
Ch: Kemal Bengi-Akyuerek
TM: Klaus Schenkel*
TM: Rolf Gerdes
(until 28.02.2023)
TM: Javier Eraso Helguera
TM: Karel Peirs
LM: Christopher Heath
LM: Roberto Romandini
LM: Claes Almberg
LM: Frédéric Bostedt
Board of Appeal 3.5.04
Ch: Brigitte Willems
TM: Marc Paci*
TM: Alain Dumont
TM: Alexander Seeger
TM: Benjamin Le Guen
TM: Francesc Sanahuja
LM: Bernhard Müller
LM: Theodora Karamanli
LM: Georg Decker
Board of Appeal 3.5.05
Ch: Andrea Ritzka
TM: Philippe Cretaine*
TM: Eyüp Konak
TM: Nikolay Uhlmann
TM: Peter Tabery
LM: Fritz Blumer
LM: Eric Mille
LM: Claes Almberg
LM: Karoline Kerber-Zubrzycka
Board of Appeal 3.5.06
Ch: Martin Müller
TM: Alan Teale*
TM: Georges Zucka
TM: Stefan Krischer
TM: Teodor Alecu
TM: Miguel Domingo Vecchioni
LM: Bernhard Müller
LM: Aurélie Jimenez
LM: Karoline Kerber-Zubrzycka
Board of Appeal 3.5.07
Ch + LM: Jean Geschwind
TM: Paula San-Bento Furtado*
TM: Ronald de Man
TM: Michael Jaedicke
TM: Corinne Barel-Faucheux
LM: Eric Mille
Article 3
Composition of the Board in a particular appeal
(1) The Chair shall determine the composition of the Board responsible for deciding it from amongst the Board members.
(2) In determining the composition, the Chair 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 Chair shall designate a technically qualified member from another Board. This shall be done in agreement with the Chair of that Board.
(4) If the circumstances of the appeal make it necessary, the Chair shall designate a legally qualified member from another Board. This shall be done in agreement with the Chair 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
Replacement of members
(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 Chair 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 of one of the Boards listed below cannot be replaced in accordance with paragraph 1, the Chair shall designate a member of one of the Boards of the group as defined below, subject to the agreement of the Chair 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 3.3.04, 3.3.07 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 Chair shall designate a technically qualified member from another Board. This shall be done in agreement with the Chair of that Board and with 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 Chair shall designate a legally qualified member from another Board. This shall be done in agreement with the Chair of the Legal Board of Appeal and with 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
Exclusion and objection
(1) For the purpose of taking a decision on exclusion or objection under Article 24, paragraph 4, EPC, the Chair in the particular appeal or other members concerned shall be replaced by their alternates.
(2) The alternate to a technically qualified member shall be the next technically qualified member on the list for the Board as set out in Article 2, with the first member on the list being the alternate to the last one on the list.
(3) The alternate to a legally qualified member shall be the next legally qualified member on the list for the Board as set out in Article 2, with the first member on the list being the alternate to the last one on the list.
(4) The alternate to the Chair shall be determined according to paragraphs 2 or 3, depending on their (technical or legal) qualification.
(5) If the alternate according to paragraphs 2 to 4 is unavailable, the next member on the respective list shall become the alternate.
(6) If a full Board cannot be composed applying these provisions, alternates shall be drawn from the next Board in the same technical field, according to the same principles, with Board 3.2.01 being the next to Board 3.2.08, Board 3.3.02 being the next to Board 3.3.10, Board 3.4.01 being the next to Board 3.4.03 and Board 3.5.01 being the next to Board 3.5.07.
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 Chair may order that the Board shall decide in the same composition.
Article 8
Transitional provisions
Cases in which before 1 January 2023 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 2023 until 31 December 2023.
Done at Haar on 22 December 2022
For the Presidium
The Chair
C. JOSEFSSON
1 The Chairs are indicated by (Ch), their deputies by an asterisk (*), technically qualified members by (TM) and legally qualified members by (LM).