Judicial Administration Structure for IP Disputes: Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office, European Patent Organisation
Information provided by:
Legal Services of the Boards of Appeal
Presidium | President of the BoA Carl Josefsson (SE) |
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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 |
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Appeal | |||||||||||||||||||
Decision | |||||||||||||||||||
Receiving Section Examining Divisions Opposition Divisions Legal Division |
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EPO President | “First” Instance |
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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 | ||||||||
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
Technical boards of appeal | 2059 | 2245 | 2660 | 2049 | 3013 | 3395 | 3576 | 3358 | |
Enlarged Board of Appeal | 14 | 17 | 27 | 19 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 17 | |
Legal Board of Appeal | 29 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 26 | 11 | 17 | 11 | |
Disciplinary Board of Appeal | 3 | 55 | 45 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 57 | 49 | |
Total | 2105 | 2332 | 2740 | 2091 | 3060 | 3427 | 3659 | 3435 |