Election to epi Committees

As you have been informed, the election to the epi Committees will be held during the Council Meeting of the epi in Warsaw on 18 November 2017.

If you are interested to work in one or more of the epi Committees, you can apply as a candidate for the Committee(s) by completing the questionnaire, which is available on the epi website as follows http://epi.patentepi.org/election.xhtml

Please note that the election to the Disciplinary Committee and for the Internal Auditors has already been held during the last Council Meeting in Munich as stipulated in our Founding Regulations. Kindly note that there will be no elections to the Electoral Committee and the Nominations Committee.

In order to give an overview of the different Committees of the epi please find the following information and composition of the Committees here:

By-Laws Committee

The By-Laws Committee assists the President, the Board and the Council in all matters having regard to the interpretation of the various regulations of the epi, the most important of them being the Founding Regulation and the By-Laws. On request of the Board or Council the Committee proposes in the three official languages amendments of existing By-Laws, or drafts new ones.

The By-Laws Committee is responsible for the organisation of the Collection of Decisions (CoD) and for editorial changes and translation revisions.

The By-Laws Committee consists of five members, of which one shall have German, one English, and one French, respectively, as their mother tongue. This Committee shall have up to four substitute members, of which, one shall have German, one English, and one French, respectively as their mother tongue, necessarily substituting the full member having the same mother tongue.

epi-Finances Committee

The epi-Finances Committee advises on the preparation of the budget and makes proposals for the financial planning and financial management of the Institute. The Committee is empowered to consider financial management of the Institute and investigates every aspect of the financial affairs of the Institute, particularly for the purpose of ensuring a balanced financial situation.

The Committee shall have a maximum of ten full members.

Committee on EPO Finances

The Committee's terms of reference are to keep under review the information available, from the EPO or otherwise, concerning all aspects of the financial affairs and forward planning of the EPO having relevance for the levels of official fees charged to the applicant. The concern of the Committee is not just the absolute level of fees, but also assessing whether the users of the EPO get value for money. This involves looking to the Annual Report and other documents relating to the EPO's costs, staffing, financial obligations, performance, and levels of demand.

The committee shall have a maximum of four full members, and up to four substitute members.

European Patent Practice Committee

The European Patent Practice Committee (EPPC) considers and discusses all questions pertaining to, or connected with, practice under the European Patent Convention, the Community Unitary Patent Regulation and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) including any revision thereof, except questions concerning inventions in the field of biotechnology, online communications, documentation and patent information, the litigation of EP and Community applications and patents, and the setting of EPO fees. The EPPC drafts epi position papers for ratification by Council and then submits them to relevant bodies.

This Committee shall include one full member, for each member state, and additional full members belonging to four technological groups as follows:

Pharmaceuticals (10 members);
Information and Communication Technologies (12 members);
Mechanics: (10 members);
Chemistry (8 members).

Professional Education Committee

PEC advises the epi Board on professional education and qualification. Its members are professional representatives, with at least one from each EPC member country, and it meets regularly.

The PEC also liaises with the Examination Board/Examination Committees on behalf of epi. It organises and oversees educational activities, including epiTutorials. It administrates the epi Students, who are trainees preparing for the European Qualifying Examination (EQE). PEC maintains continuous dialogue between itself, tutors and students.

PEC has set up a number of working groups to concentrate on key areas of its responsibility.

At the moment, PEC is particularly considering EQE pass rates and Continuing Professional Education for professional representatives. It has set up working groups to look at both topics.

Professional Conduct Committee

The Professional Conduct Committee shall deal with the formulation of recommandations in compliance with the Founding Regulation.

For this Committee the maximum number of members which may be elected from each member state is one full member and one substitute member.

Litigation Committee

The Litigation Committee considers and discusses all questions, including inter-state agreements, related to the litigation of European and EP patents and patent applications, as well as representation in Court by European Patent Attorneys and the proposal to separate the Boards of Appeal from the European Patent Office.

The Committee shall consist of a maximum of one full member and one substitute member for each contracting state.

Committee on Biotechnological Inventions

The Committee on Biotechnological Inventions shall consider and discuss all questions pertaining to, or connected with, inventions in the field of biotecchnology, including the Budapest Treaty.

For this Committee, only one full member may be elected for each member state.

Harmonisation Committee

The Harmonisation Committee deals with all questions concerning the worldwide harmonisation of Patent Law. In particular, the Committee advises the delegates named by the President of the Council for meetings of the Standing Committee on the law of Patents, convened by WIPO, or for other related meetings convened by WIPO, and reports to the Council about these meetings.

The Harmonisation Committee shall have a maximum of seven full members and a maximum of seven substitute members.

Online Communications Committee

The Online Communications Committee collaborates with the European Patent Office in its projects for introducing online communication. The Committee draws on experience and knowledge of the systems set up by the national Patent Offices of the USA and Japan. In addition, the Committee monitors the activities of National Patent Offices in the Member States and other official institutions in the area of online communications in connection with intellectual property and observes the efforts of these institutions regarding harmonisation of online communications. The Committee deals with all questions relating to these projects referred to it by members of the epi. The Committee members are selected for having practical experience of online systems for the benefit of the members of epi, and of the European Patent Office and its users.

The Committee shall have a maximum of eleven full members.

Editorial Committee

The task of the Editorial Committee in publishing "epi Information" shall be to ensure that the publisher of the journal will receive all texts to be published. In addition, the tasks if the Editorial Committee in maintaining the epi website shall be to ensure that all texts to be published are placed and removed from the website as appropriate.

The Editorial Committee shall consist of at least four and at most eight members. Of these, one shall have German, one English, and one French, respectively, as their mother tongue. At least one member should have knowledge of Internet website design.

epi Studentship Admissions Committee

The purpose of this Committee is to determine whether each person applying to become an epi student has the necessary qualifications to meet the requirements set out in the Rules governing epi studentship.

The Committee shall consist of six members elected by Council.

Please note that the Committee consists of 7 members elected temporarily for the transition phase until the C83

Further information and the current composition of the committees can be found on the epi website as follows: http://patentepi.org/en/epi-bodies/epi-committees/

For further questions please contact the epi Secretariat info@patentepi.org