Bonum Certa Men Certa

Guest Post: Is Germany's UPC Ratification Postponement Related to Problems at the€  EPO?

Summary: A question currently being asked by some people watching UPC developments in Germany: "Is Germany's UPC ratification postponement related to problems at the EPO?"

"FEEL free to use the commentary below as you see fit," a reader told us, sharing some informed opinion on what may be happening in Germany, based on various German publications.






Around mid-June the story broke that already in April (!) the German Federal Constitutional Court had intervened to halt the ratification of the UPC by the German President.

The story was originally reported in the leading daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and was quickly picked up by various IP blogs.

For example:

Breaking News: Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court pulls Emergency Break on UPC Agreement http://kluwerpatentblog.com/2017/06/13/breaking-news-germanys-federal-constitutional-court-pulls-emergency-break-upc-agreement/

In the meantime speculation is rife among German IP blogs as to whether Germany's UPC ratification postponement might be connected to problems at the EPO, in particular issues relating to concerns about the independence of the EPO's Boards of Appeal.

1. From an article published by the Legal Tribune Online:

Keine richterliche Unabhängigkeit beim Europäischen Patentamt?

Der Stein des Anstoßes: Das Europäische Patentamt Nun ist seit einigen Tagen ist bekannt, dass das Bundesverfassungsgericht (BVerfG) den Bundespräsidenten gebeten hat, die bereits vom Bundestag und Bundesrat verabschiedeten Umsetzungsgesetze nicht auszufertigen. Hintergrund ist, dass das BVerfG so ausreichend Zeit hat, einen gegen die Gesetze anhängigen Eilantrag ausreichend zu prüfen.€  ...

Gegenstand der aktuell anhängigen Verfassungsbeschwerde und des entsprechenden Eilantrags dürften Bedenken gegen die Rechtsstaatlichkeit der Verfahren vor dem Europäischen Patentamt (EPA) sein, das auch für die Erteilung der europäischen Einheitspatente und hiergegen eingelegte Einsprüche zuständig sein wird. Indem die EU-Verordnungen zum europäischen Einheitspatent, das Übereinkommen über das einheitliche Patentgericht und die deutschen Ausführungsgesetze an die Organisation des EPA anknüpfen, setzen sie sich derselben verfassungsrechtlichen Kritik aus, die bereits Gegenstand mehrerer Verfassungsbeschwerden gegen Entscheidungen des EPA ist. Von diesen werden noch in diesem Jahr vier vor dem BVerfG verhandelt werden.

Dass das EPA als seit Jahrzehnten funktionierende supranationale Einrichtung nicht mit den Grundsätzen des Grundgesetzes vereinbar sein und seine Entscheidungen daher Grundrechte verletzen sollen, mag zunächst erstaunen. Prof. Siegried Broß, ehemaliger Verfassungsrichter und im Jahr 2010 selbst noch an einer Entscheidung über eine Verfassungsbeschwerde gegen Entscheidung des EPA beteiligt (Az. 2 BvR 2253/06), vertritt diese Kritik prominent.

http://www.lto.de/recht/hintergruende/h/bverfg-stoppt-europaeisches-einheitspatent-epa-unabhaengigkeit-verfassungswidrig/

http://www.lto.de/recht/nachrichten/n/bverfg-stoppt-eu-einheits-patent-verfassungsbeschwerde/

The author of the above article, Paetrick-Sakowski, is a Dusseldorf-based lawyer:

https://cms.law/de/DEU/People/Paetrick-Sakowski

2. From an article published on the blog site of an IP legal practice in Frankfurt:

Einheitliches Patentgericht: Unbekannter Kläger bremst Ratifizierung aus

Dadurch, dass die Beweggründe noch nicht offiziell veröffentlicht wurden, gibt es aktuell viele Spekulationen was bei der Ausarbeitung des Gesetzes bzw. des Übereinkommens schief gelaufen ist. Einer der Gründe könnten die Bedenken gegen die Rechtsstaatlichkeit der Verfahren vor dem in München ansässigen Europäischen Patentamt sein. Das Problem: Die Exekutive (Gesetzesausführung) und die Judikative (Gerichtsbarkeit) waren an einen€ Standort und vor allem hatten sie ein und den selben Vorgesetzten – EPA-Präsident Benoît Battistelli. Battistelli, der an Spitze der Verwaltung und des Gerichtsteils des EPA steht, habe personell und sachlich Einfluss auf die Exekutive bzw. Judikative.€ Eine Prüfung der EPA-Entscheidungen durch ein unabhängiges Gericht sei dadurch nicht oder nur schwer möglich.

Diesbzgl. hatte das EPA bereits viel Kritik einstecken müssen. Im letzten Jahr gab man bekannt, dass man eine der Bereiche umziehen wird, um zumindest eine räumliche Trennung vorzunehmen. In der Pressemitteilung heißt es u.a. „Der Umzug in ein anderes Dienstgebäude ist deshalb ein wichtiger Schritt im Bemühen, das Beschwerdesystem des EPA langfristig zu sichern und nachhaltig zu stärken“ und „Bisher waren die Beschwerdekammern im Hauptgebäude des EPA an der Isar untergebracht. Die Vergrößerung ihrer organisatorischen Selbständigkeit war immer wieder Gegenstand von Diskussionen. Eine verwaltungsmäßige Autonomie der Kammern war wiederholt thematisiert und im Verwaltungsrat erörtert worden.„.

Den angekündigten Umzug, der in den kommenden Monaten sein soll, könne man aber auch so aufnehmen, als dass der Präsident den Anschuldigern weniger Angriffsfläche bieten und zumindest räumlich ein Zeichen setzen wolle. An der€ institutionellen Verfassung des Amtes tut sich aber indes nichts. Im Klartext: Neuer Standort, aber alte Hierarchie und Arbeitsweise.

https://info.legal-patent.com/de/patentrecht/einheitliches-patentgericht-unbekannter-klaeger-bremst-upc-ratifizierung-aus/

For the moment no English translations of the above articles are available.

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