Germans dominate list of newly appointed technical judges

Experienced experts from patent offices and patent courts feature heavily on the list of 21 new technical judges at the UPC. According to JUVE Patent information, none of the new judges are patent attorneys. In the first round of hires, the Administrative Committee mainly appointed patent attorneys from private practice as technically qualified judges.

However, this led to doubts in the patent community about the ability of these judges to remain impartial. The Administrative Committee and the Presidium of the UPC responded by establishing a strict Code of Conduct for judges. The committee also conducted a second selection procedure, to which they invited mainly technical judges from the member states.

Code triggers resignations

After the first round of appointments in October, three technical judges resigned, including the well-known French lawyer and patent attorney Grégoire Desrousseaux from top French firm August Debouzy.

Following this, the 21 newly appointed technically qualified judges, due to be sworn in in the coming days, are mainly national patent judges from Germany, Finland and Sweden. The Administrative Committee also selected two former judges from the Boards of Appeal at the European Patent Office, Gabriele Alt (Germany) and Graham Ashley (Germany/UK). Examiners from the German, French and Dutch patent offices complete the list.

Germans predominate

Nine of the newly appointed judges come from Germany, while four hail from France, three from Sweden and two from the Netherlands. Austria and Finland each contribute one judge. Alessandra Sani is German-Italian and currently works for the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) in Munich.

UPC Munich central division ©Unified Patent Court

The new appointments also cover all technical fields. The Administrative Committee appointed seven new judges in chemistry, pharmaceuticals and biotech. Eight were appointed in electronics and physics, as well as six new judges in mechanical engineering.

Some of the judges bring knowledge in multiple disciplines. Dutch judge Jeroen Meewisse, for example, not only has experience in chemistry and pharmaceuticals but also in mechanical engineering. German Federal Patent Court judge Erwin Wismeth brings expertise in chemistry, pharmaceutics and physics. His colleague at the Federal Patent Court Nicolai Geier is qualified in mechanical engineering and physics.

No additional legal judges

The technical judges will not initially work full-time for the UPC. They are compensated on a case-by-case basis.

There are no lawyers among the newly appointed judges. The UPC appointed the final three legally qualified judges in May: two for the central divisions in Munich and Paris, and one for the local division in Copenhagen. A total of 37 legally qualified judges currently work at the UPC.

Full list of newly appointed technical judges

Biotechnology, chemistry and pharmaceutics

Gabriele Alt – Germany; former technical judge at the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office

Xavier Dorland-Galliot – France; chairman of the opposition commissions at the French IP Office (INPI)

Andreas Gustafsson – Sweden; current position unknown

Anna Hedberg – Sweden; judge at the Patent and Market Court, Stockholm District Court

Jeroen Meewisse – the Netherlands; examiner at the Dutch Patent Office (also mechanical engineering)

Stefanie Philipps – Germany; judge at the German Federal Patent Court (not chemistry)

Erwin Wismeth – Germany; judge at the German Federal Patent Court (also physics)

Mechanical engineering

Graham Ashley – Germany/UK; former technical judge at the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office

Nicolai Geier – Germany; judge at the German Federal Patent Court (also physics)

Merja Annikki Heikkinen-Keinänen – Finland; technical judge at the Market Court of Finland

Kerstin Roselinger – Sweden; technical judge at the Patent and Market Court, Stockholm

Beate Schenk – Germany; judge at the German Federal Patent Court

Marc van der Burg – the Netherlands; judge at the Court of Appeal The Hague

Electricity and physics

Guillaume Faget – France; examiner at the French IP Office (INPI)

Hergen Kapels – Germany; judge at the German Federal Patent Court

Klaus Loibner – Austria; examiner at the Austrian Patent Office

Udo Matter – Germany; judge at the German Federal Patent Court

Wiem Samoud – France; examiner at the French IP Office (INPI)

Alessandra Sani – Italy/Germany; examiner at German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA)

Anthony Soledade – France; examiner at the French IP Office (INPI)

Jürgen Tischler – Germany; judge at the German Federal Patent Court