Examiners fear they won't be able to ensure appropriate quality standards
FOSS patents reports on an open letter sent by EPO employees to delegations of the Adminstrative Council and their ministries.The letter stresses that "EPO examiners will no longer be able to ensure appropriate quality standards" if the so-called New Career System (NCS) was put in place.
Those staff members oppose an "entirely performance-based career proposal" and say it runs counter to core European Union policy positions.For example, the European Commission's Industrial Property Rights Strategy for Europe of 2008 document noted that "[h}igh quality rights are an essential requirement for all aspects of the system – support for business including SMEs, facilitation of knowledge transfer and effective enforcement of rights to combat counterfeiting and piracy."