Judgment No. 3456

• Organization: European Patent Organisation (EPO)
• Date: 11.02.2015
• Original: English
• Judges: Barbagallo, Moore, Rawlins
• Full judgment text - Full judgment text (french)

Decision

The complaints are dismissed.

Summary

The complaints, essentially identical and clearly irreceivable, were summarily dismissed.

Judgment keywords

Keywords

vexatious complaint; summary procedure; complaint dismissed

Consideration 4

Extract:

"On the guidance of Judgments 3301, under 5, and 2479, under 2, for example, the Tribunal considers that these complaints constitute an abuse of process for the following reasons. First, they are essentially identical complaints. In the second place, they are clearly irreceivable on a number of grounds. The first is that the complaints do not impugn final decisions, as required by Article VII, paragraph 1, of the Tribunal’s Statute (see, for example, Judgments 2479, 2948, 3050, 3301, 3302 and 3326). Moreover, the Tribunal has consistently held that the forwarding of the claim to the advisory appeal body, constitutes a “decision upon [the] claim” within the meaning of Article VII, paragraph 3, which is sufficient to forestall an implied rejection (see Judgment 2948, under 7)."

Reference(s)

ILOAT Judgment(s): 2479, 2948, 3050, 3301, 3302, 3326

Keywords

direct appeal to tribunal; vexatious complaint