Bonum Certa Men Certa

The ILO's Tribunal Decided That the Appeals Committee (ApC) at the European Patent Office (EPO) is Flawed and Staff Can Take Action



Video download link | md5sum 76d583bf10e9f2a78ca2c63f5f1d4e21 A Call for Action by EPO Staff Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: "Decision [by ILO] on internal appeals" at the EPO is being utilised to overturn wrong decisions, overseen by unqualified and vengeful managers instead of proper processes

THE EPO's Central Staff Committee (CSC) recently circulated a publication that said: "Dear colleagues, [who had elected the CSC]

"In Judgment No. 4550, the Tribunal ruled that the composition of the Appeals Committee (ApC) was flawed. It set aside the decision by the President in question and referred the individual case back to the Office, resulting in further delay in the administration of justice.

"We are not sure whether the Tribunal will draw similar consequences in other cases and whether other appeals / complaints currently pending will also be affected. On the other hand, it seems that the Office is now contacting some staff affected and inviting them to “refrain from filing a complaint with the Tribunal at this stage”, announcing that they would be contacted regarding the impact of Judgment No. 4550 on their case “as soon as possible”. The assessment seems to take time…

"One thing is certain, however: the 90-day deadline for filing a complaint with the Tribunal after the President has taken a decision remains and no one has the possibility of extending it.

"Therefore, in order to preserve all options, we draw staff’s attention to the possibility of initiating a complaint procedure on time in a summary form, exceptionally, by only filing the most necessary documents with the Tribunal before the 90-day deadline."

The video above discusses the publication, which is also reproduced with some redaction below:

Zentraler Personalausschuss Central Staff Committee Le Comité Central du Personnel

Munich,30/09/2022 sc22127cp

Internal appeals and decisions taken by the President The clock at ILOAT is ticking.

Dear Colleagues,

In Judgment No. 4550, the Tribunal ruled that the composition of the Appeals Committee (ApC) with appointees selected only from elected Staff Committee members was flawed, so that the opinions the ApC gave to the President are also flawed. The Tribunal set aside the decision by the President in question and referred the individual case back to the Office, resulting in further delay in the administration of justice. Back to square one, so to speak.

We are not sure whether the Tribunal will draw similar consequences in other cases and whether other appeals / complaints currently pending will also be affected, including those for which the ApC provided their reasoned opinion (in a flawed composition) and the President took a decision based on it.

On the other hand, it seems that the Office is now contacting some staff affected and inviting them to “refrain from filing a complaint with the Tribunal at this stage”, announcing that they would be contacted regarding the impact of Judgment No. 4550 on their case “as soon as possible”. The assessment seems to take time...

One thing is sure: the 90-day deadline1 for filing a complaint with the Tribunal after the President has taken a decision2 remains and neither the Office nor the complainants nor the Tribunal have any possibility of extending it.

____ 1 See Article VII(2) of the ILOAT Statute 2 In accordance with Article 110(4) ServRegs




Therefore, in order to preserve all options, we draw staff’s attention to the possibility of initiating a complaint procedure on time in a summary form, exceptionally, by only filing the most necessary documents with the Tribunal before the 90-day deadline. Namely, it is essential to:

[redacted]

Once this has been done the complainant can decide later whether to withdraw or to correct the summary complaint. The Tribunal will set a time limit for correcting the complaint and filing the brief and any annexes.

The President will most likely offer the affected colleagues the following possibilities in their individual cases:

a) Have their case reassessed by a properly composed chamber of the ApC. In this case the President will withdraw his decision and refer the case back to the ApC. In this case the complainant will also have to withdraw in writing (e-mail form is sufficient) any complaint filed. b) Have the decision maintained. In this case, the complainant can proceed to the Tribunal and will receive moral damages in an amount of 100 euro as suggested in Judgment No. 4550.

Don’t hesitate to contact your Staff Representation if in doubt.

Your Central Staff Committee

[redacted]



As images:

ILOAT page 1

ILOAT page 2

The staff conflict never ended. Examiners want a real patent office, not a company that sells monopolies.

Recent Techrights' Posts

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Has a Policy on Racism and Sexism
In then future we'll show the misogyny and racial slurs
The 50-Pound Note Experiment and the "War on Cash"
Britain is actually seeing a rebound in cash payments, and it's not a temporary phenomenon
 
Links 22/09/2025: More American 'Censorship' (Retaliation for Journalism), Cheeto "Might Be Losing His Race Against Time"
Links for the day
The Blob Slop
Give me more words, give me some text
Slopwatch: Blaming the Victims for Microsoft's Failures and Plagiarising Phoronix
That's what Google has been reduced to: slop and slopfarms
Links 22/09/2025: Breaches, Windows TCO, and Arrests
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/09/2025: Rabbit Hole and DeGoogling Fairphone
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2025: Russian War Planes Invade NATO Airspace While Dihydroxyacetone Man Escalates Attack on Free Speech Because of Critics
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 21, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 21, 2025
Links 21/09/2025: "Hey Hi" (Hype) Under Fire, Fakes Identified; Tesla Burns Family
Links for the day
Google's Software is Malware and Malware in Mobile Devices
Originally posted by Rob Musial
Links 20/09/2025: Hegemony Coming to a Close, Luigi Mangione Ruled Not Terrorist
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2025: "Charlie Kirk Was a Hateful Piece of Shit" and Slop Code Attempted by Microsofter
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Snowy Photos and utism is a Spectrum
Links for the day
Microsoft-Sponsored Xenophobia and Nationalism
IBM is very similar in this regard
Vintage is Sometimes Better
Why can't we get back to "simple" if (or where) "simple" means better?
Climate Breakdown Means We'll be Publishing More, Not Less
Press freedom will be a common, recurring theme
Our 5-Year Geminispace Anniversary is Coming Up
I still remember when Gemini Protocol was quite new
It's Right to Point Out Violence From the Right
Violence is a recurring theme
Tentative Summary of Things to Publish in Project 2030
I'll still be in my forties by then
Web Browsers That "Do Hey Hi" (AI)
State-of-the-art plagiarism or "autocomplete on steroids" (not coined by us, nevertheless a nice description) don't have much/any prospect
Links 20/09/2025: Hardware Projects in View, Some Independent Publishers About Russia Prosper After Cheeto Cuts Funding
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Options and TV Time Machine
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day