Authorisation For Legal Practitioners To Act Before The EPO

A recent decision by the EPO's Boards of Appeal, T 1846/11, concerns an appeal filed by Rigaku Corporation (appellant) against the decision of the examining division, refusing European patent application no. 04012578.3.

This decision deals with the importance of ensuring that correct authorisations are obtained for legal practitioners to act on behalf of an applicant in EPO proceedings.

The European Patent Convention (EPC) draws a clear distinction between professional representatives (ie qualified European Patent Attorneys) and legal practitioners (qualified practitioners in a contracting state who are entitled to act in patent matters and having their place of business in that state). Examples of legal practitioners include Rechtsanwalt in Germany and solicitors and barristers in the UK. Under the EPC, legal practitioners may represent an applicant in proceedings before the EPO in the same way as professional representatives as long as the relevant authorisation