12/10/2015
IPKat Blog, "Viennese waltz may be the last dance for Board members"
IPKat reports that Mr Battistelli is close to sealing a deal between Germany and Austria which would make a move of the Boards of Appeal from Munich (DE) to Vienna (AT) possible.According to Article 53 of the EPO Service Regulations, "refusing to relocate to another country is a sackable offence".
"Headquartering the Boards in a different country opens up the enthralling possibility of firing Board members, possibly even without the distasteful necessity of referring such decisions to the Enlarged Board. As Mr Battistelli has discovered in the last year, even getting one Board member fired is not as easy as one might think. The European Patent Convention and due process keep getting in the way."
Some commentsmention that in the context of the disciplinary procedure against a member of the Board of Appeal, Mr Battistelli is said to be pressing the delegations to overule a decision by the Enlarged of Board of Appeal which he considers wrong.