On November 15, 2022, a conference was held with the joint initiative of the Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation (OBI) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) at a central hotel in Athens. The topic of the event was: “ Operation of the Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)”.
The conference was attended by representatives from both organisations, including the President of the EUIPO Board of Appeal, Mr. João Negrão, the General Director of OBI, Mr. Panagiotis Kanellopoulos, as well as lawyers, members of the Administrative Committees of Trademarks at OBI, judicial officers, and other individuals active in the field of Intellectual Property.
The conference proceedings began with a welcome address by the General Director of OBI, Mr. Panagiotis Kanellopoulos. This was followed by four presentations on the following topics:
a) “At the Service of Users: The Vision and Mission of the EUIPO Board of Appeal,” presented by the President of the EUIPO Board of Appeal, Mr. João Negrão.
b) “Recent Developments in Case Law Regarding Absolute and Relative Grounds of Inadmissibility,” presented by the President of the Second Division of the EUIPO Board of Appeal, Mr. Sven Sturmann.
c) “The Contribution of the EUIPO Boards of Appeal to the consistent and unified Application of Union Trademark and Design Legislation (Consistency Circles + Judges’ Quality Assurance and Legal Practice Panels, European Cooperation Projects),” presented by Ms. Janka Budovičová from the EUIPO Board of Appeal.
d) “Alternative Dispute Resolution in the EUIPO Boards of Appeal,” presented by Ms. Natalia Kapetanaki from EUIPO.
The above presentations were followed by a rich discussion with questions and interventions from the audience, which contributed constructively to the exchange of experiences and views between national and EU stakeholders in the field of Intellectual Property.
