ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL
Report on the 177th meeting of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (Munich, 13 and 14 December 2023)
The Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation held its 177th meeting in Munich in a hybrid format on 13 and 14 December under its Chairperson Josef KRATOCHVÍL (CZ).
The Council was presented with a quarterly report on the Office's activities featuring a goal-by-goal update on the progress made under its Strategic Plan 2023 (SP2023), as well as with a Sustainability Report covering the Office's overall performance against the goals set out in SP2023. The Council congratulated the Office on the extensive impact of SP2023's implementation. In a closed session, the Council exchanged views on the strategic direction of the Office over the next five years and, in a subsequent exchange in plenary, considered the blueprint of the Strategic Plan 2028.
Turning to strategic decisions, as part of the modernisation of the EPO's external governance, the Council unanimously approved further amendments to its Rules of Procedure, and welcomed the Chairperson's report on the implementation of operational measures.
The Council unanimously approved the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal to further enhance the timeliness of appeal proceedings.
Regarding appointments, the Council unanimously decided in closed session to appoint:
- Mr Franck HERVIO as the new French-speaking member of the Board of Auditors for a term of office of five years, with effect from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2028;
- Mr Manoj SACHDEVA as Vice-Chair of the Appeals Committee for a term of office of three years, with effect from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026.
The Council also decided on the re-appointment of members of the Boards of Appeal, based on proposals by the President of the Boards of Appeal.
The Council subsequently discussed several other matters, and approved:
- the amendments to the Regulation on the European qualifying examination;
- a second basket of legal changes supporting digitalisation and simplification of the patent grant procedure; and
- the setting for a further three-year period of the fees payable under all current and future working agreements with contracting States and the continuation of the existing support scheme for small entities for all contracting States with working agreements on search co-operation in force.
Furthermore, the Council considered other important agenda items and adopted:
- the extension of the recognition of registered partnerships;
- the recommendations included in the joint report of the Actuarial Advisory Group on the management of its pension scheme;
- a number of decisions related to adjustments of salaries, allowances, pensions.
The Council expressed a unanimous favourable opinion on the paper on recruitment and workforce planning 2024. Turning to financial and budget matters, the Council was presented with a comprehensive financial study update. Furthermore, the Council adopted a review of the fee policy and fee-related support measures for micro-entities, as well as a proposed new policy for the Ansera-based search tool pricing policy. It then unanimously approved the Organisation's €2.3bn budget for 2024.
Further, the Council noted the reports of the respective Chairpersons of the Select Committee; the Budget and Finance Committee; the Technical and Operational Support Committee; the Committee on Patent Law; and the Supervisory Board of the Reserve Funds for Pensions and Social Security.
Finally, an update on Unitary Patent protection was presented by the Office and by the Belgian delegation, Belgium being the country to hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first half of 2024.