What is the legal framework on which board of appeal decisions are based?
The members of the boards are bound only by the European Patent Convention, which governs European patent practice at the European Patent Office. According to the Convention, in their decisions the members of the boards are not bound by any other instructions whatsoever, either from the President of the Office or from the national authorities or from any other party. The status of the members of the boards is comparable to that of a judge at a second-instance national court.
