Judicial Administration Structure for Patent Disputes: Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office, European Patent Organisation

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Legal Services of the Boards of Appeal

Presidium       President of the BoA
Carl Josefsson (SE)		      
           
                                                   
                                                   
  Enlarged Board
of Appeal		   Legal Board
of Appeal		   Technical Board
of Appeal		   Disciplinary Board
of Appeal		   Legal Services   Administrative Services
                                                   
                    Mechanics               Legal Research Service       Registry
                                       
                                                   
                    Chemistry                            
                                  Legal Advice Service       Administration and Business Processes
                                           
                    Physics                        
                                               
                                                   
                    Electricity                            
                                               
                                                   

 

Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA)        
                         
      Referral         Referral       Review            
                  Final decision          
                                 
                                     
          Board of Appeal (BoA)   “Second”
Instance		    
                                 
                                     
                        Appeal            
                  Decision          
                                 
                                     
          Receiving Section
Examining Divisions
Opposition Divisions
Legal Division		        
EPO President     “First”
Instance		    
                                       

As the first and final judicial instance in the procedures before the European Patent Office, the Boards of Appeal provides an independent review of decisions taken by the Receiving Section, examining divisions, opposition divisions and the Legal Division of the European Patent Office. The Enlarged Board of Appeal provides answers to questions of law referred to it and is also competent to decide on petitions for review. The appeal procedure before the Boards of Appeal is governed by the European Patent Convention (EPC), Part VI, the Implementing Regulations of the EPC and by the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal.

Information on the Boards of Appeal, the appeals procedures and the Business Distribution Scheme is outlined in the annual supplementary publication to the Official Journal of the European Patent Office "Information from the Boards of Appeal".

Number of new and settled cases

New cases Settled cases
2023 2024 2023 2024  
Technical boards of appeal 2049 1497 3358 3017  
Enlarged Board of Appeal 19 31 17 23  
Legal Board of Appeal 7 13 11 9  
Disciplinary Board of Appeal 16 26 49 22  
Total 2091 1567 3435 3071  

Decisions of the Boards of Appeal

WIPO Lex – European Patent Organisation

European Patent Convention

Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office

Enlarged Board of Appeal

Case Law of the Boards of Appeal, 11th edition

Publications of the Boards of Appeal

Abstracts of decisions