Join the webinar on EPO video conferencing proceedings on 11 March EPLIT is pleased to invite you to an online webinar on the EPO video conferencing (VICO) proceedings, particularly before the opposition divisions and the boards of appeal. The webinar will be held on Thursday 11 March 2021 from11am till 12.30 am CET. Please click here for information on the program and...
EPLIT’s Annual Meeting on 28 May 2021
Save the date! EPLIT’s 8th Annual Meeting will be held on Friday 28 May 2021. We currently plan to hold the meeting in person, in Brussels (Belgium) together with a pre-conference dinner on Thursday 27 May 2021. Depending on how the restrictions relating to the Covid pandemic evolve, it may alternatively go ahead by videoconference or under a hybrid format. A more...
EPLIT Position Paper and Survey on Oral Proceedings by videoconference by the EPO Boards of Appeal
Please find here EPLIT’s position paper on the EPO Board of Appeal User Consultation regarding Oral Proceedings by videoconference, submitted on 27 November 2020.
EPLIT has also carried out a survey with its members on the use of videoconferencing in examination, opposition and appeal proceedings at the EPO. The results of this survey can be found here.
German Parliament Approves Ratification of the UPC Agreement
German Parliament Approves Ratification of the UPC Agreement Yesterday, 26 November 2020, the Bundestag passed the UPC ratification bill, exceeding the necessary two thirds majority highlighted as required by the decision of the German constitutional complaint. The vote of the German jury can be found here. An update from the UPC Preparatory Committee can be found here. Comments from the EPO...
The UK will not be part of the UPC
EPLIT has learned that the UK government intends to stop its cooperation towards the creation of the Unified Patent Court. EPLIT considers this to be a regrettable development and remains committed to support the establishment of a pan-European court for adjudicating patent disputes. Ideally, such court would have jurisdiction not only for EU states but also for other European countries...
Rules of Procedure of the Board of Appeal – in force from 1 January 2020
The new Rules of Procedure of the BoA have been approved by the Administrative Council on at its 160th meeting on 26 and 27 June 2019. The adopted version essentially remained unchanged as compared to the draft which formed basis of a user hearing last December. However, Rule 12(7) has been slightly amended. According to the draft an extension of the 4-months period to file a written reply in...
Constitutional Complaint successful – UPCA on further hold
Today, the German Constitutional Court has handed down its decision in the case of the complaint against the Act of Approval to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court. The reason for the decision is that the Act amends the German Constitution in substantive terms but has not been approved by the Bundestag with the two-thirds required majority. This is another setback for the project of the...
UPC Judicial Recruitment – 2019 Top-up Campaign now open
Following the major recruitment campaign in 2016 for judicial positions (both legal and technical) of the UPC, the Preparatory Committee has agreed to re-open recruitment for judicial positions to new applications. Given it has been three years since the last campaign, it is now right to call for new applications. This will allow those that were not eligible or decided not to apply three years...
Survey relating to the dress code for representatives before the UPC
The draft Code of Conduct adopted by the UPC Preparatory Committee mentions a dress code as follows: “Finally, we note that once decided for the judges, some provision on the dress code for Representatives should be added to avoid possible discrimination.“ We have been told that a blue robe as a dress code for the judges has been proposed. Please click here for a short...
EPLIT’s 6th Annual Meeting on 5 April 2019 in Vienna
A great 6th Annual Meeting in Vienna!
On 5 April EPLIT’s 6th Annual Meeting has been held in the Steigenberger Hotel Herrenhof in Vienna, Austria