Hungarian Deputy Chairman in the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation
The Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation unanimously elected Dr. Miklós Bendzsel, President of the Hungarian Patent Office, as its Deputy Chairman at its 126th meeting held in the Hague on 15 December 2010. The mandate of the new Deputy Chairman is for three years.
The Administrative Council, which comprises of delegations from the member states of the Organisation, is the decision-making body of the organisation. The European Patent Organisation has currently 38 member states, including all the member states of the European Union. The Administrative Council exercises among others competencies of legislation [e. g. it adopts and modifies the provisions of the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the Implementing Regulations to the EPC]. In addition, it takes decisions on the budget of the organisation, on the appointment of the management of the European Patent Office (EPO), as well as on the principal rules concerning the staff of the EPO. The body is also responsible for establishing the fees of procedures initiated before the EPO.
The Administrative Council elects its Chair and Deputy Chair from the representatives of its Contracting States. The Deputy Chair shall ex officio replace the Chairman when he is prevented from fulfilling his duties and is also one of the five members of the Board of the Administrative Council.