[SUEPO] Report on the 123rd Session of the ILOAT
In its 123rd session the Tribunal delivered a total of 97 judgments, of which 33[1] cases involving the EPO. Of the EPO cases, only 3 cases were partially won[2] by the complainants. Of the remaining cases 13 were summarily dismissed. In the 123rd session the Tribunal again stressed that it will only judge on “individual” decisions, thereby confirming its unwillingness to exercise normative control. Its tendency to send cases back to the EPO further contributes to the backlog at the EPO and at the Tribunal.
[1] The high number of Judgments dealt with in this session made it impossible to report on all cases and forced us to ignore some cases that would have merited a discussion.
[2] Only cases that were won on the substance are considered as won. Cases that only led to an award of costs and damages for procedural delays are considered lost. Note that whereas many cases are fully (even summarily) dismissed, the few cases that were won are only partially won. The present paper discusses selected cases and the overall implications.