Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

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| 8.6.2016 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CA 204/1 |

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VACANCY NOTICE

VEXT/16/120/AD 13/BOA Chairperson

(2016/C 204 A/01)

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), ‘the Office’, is seeking candidates to fill the post of a Chairperson of a Board of Appeal.

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| Job title | CHAIRPERSON OF A BOARD OF APPEAL |
| Function group/grade | AD 13 |
| Type of contract | Temporary Agent |
| Reference | VEXT/16/120/AD 13/BOA\_Chairperson |
| Deadline for applications | 20 July 2016, 24.00 Alicante time (CET) |
| Place of employment | Alicante, SPAIN |
| Date foreseen for taking up duties | As from 1 March 2017 |

1.   BACKGROUND

The Office was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993 (now Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/2424 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2015). The Office has its seat in Alicante, Spain.

The Office is an Agency of the European Union which has legal personality, financial and administrative autonomy, and is responsible for administering the EU trade mark and design systems. EU trade marks and designs registered by the Office produce their effects throughout the whole of the European Union. The Office also works in close partnership with national IP offices in the EU member states, with international organisations and the European Commission on a wide range of issues affecting the owners and users of intellectual property rights including the fight against counterfeiting and helping to make enforcement more effective.

Since the Office opened for business in 1996, over 1 300 000 EU trade mark applications have led to registration. The Office exists alongside national IP offices. 130 398 EU trade mark applications and 22 608 Community design applications (86 145 designs) were filed during 2015. The Office’s budget for 2016 is approximately EUR 447 million and the number of posts is approximately 827.

Although they are integrated into the Office administrative and management systems, the Boards of Appeal have been established under the Regulation as a separate management unit within the Office to provide an independent review of the Office’s decisions, with further appeals being possible to the European Courts in Luxembourg.

The Boards of Appeal currently consist of one President, three chairpersons and fifteen members assisted by legal and administrative staff. About 100 persons work in the Boards of Appeal, including the Registry and the Knowledge and Information Support services.

Members of the Boards of Appeal review cases and prepare decisions on appeals against decisions of the first instance of the Office (trade mark or design examination, oppositions, cancellation and design invalidity). Decisions of the Boards of Appeal are taken by Boards composed of a chairperson and two members, at least two of whom must be legally qualified. In certain specific cases, decisions are taken by the enlarged Board or by a single member, who must be legally qualified.

In 2015, 2 611 appeals were filed and 2 911 decisions issued. The President of the Boards of Appeal takes overall responsibility for the flow of work and management matters.

The languages of the Office are English, German, Spanish, French and Italian. Approximately 66 % of all cases established English as the language of the proceedings, followed by German (19 %), Spanish (5 %), French (4 %), Italian (3 %) and other EU official languages (3 %).

2.   DUTIES

The successful candidate will be expected to:

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| — | decide on a large number of cases within reasonable limits and in a collegial way, following the objectives defined by the President of the Boards of Appeal, |

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| — | deal with about 650 draft decisions per year and give direction to the Board so that it contributes to develop consistent case-law and works efficiently on the disposal of the cases that come before the Boards, |

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| — | participate in the deliberations of the enlarged Board and the authority of the Boards of Appeal responsible for laying down the rules and organising the work of the Boards, |

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| — | determine the composition of the Board for each appeal and designate a member of his/her Board, or him/herself, as rapporteur, |

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| — | manage the daily work of the Board in cooperation with and under the supervision of the President of the Boards of Appeal. |

To perform his or her duties, a chairperson is supported by legal assistants and administrative staff.

3.   QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

To be admissible for this selection procedure, candidates must fulfil all the following conditions by the deadline for submission of applications:

General conditions

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| — | Be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union, |

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| — | must not have been convicted or found guilty of a criminal offence, |

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| — | have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws concerning military service, |

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| — | must be physically fit to perform the duties, |

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| — | be able to complete a full 5-year mandate before reaching retirement age, i.e. the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66. |

Education

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| — | Have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma, when the normal period of university education is 4 years or more,  OR |

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| — | have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and a professional experience of at least 1 year when the normal period of university education is at least 3 years. |

Professional experience

Have by the deadline for submission of applications a minimum of 15 years (16 years in the case of having a 3-year degree) of professional experience of the nature and at the level of the duties to be performed, and which were acquired after the date of the relevant degree. At least 10 of those 15 years must have been spent in the field of intellectual property, of which at least 4 years in the area of trade marks and/or designs.

Language skills

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| — | Have a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the European Union, |

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| — | have a satisfactory knowledge of a second language of the European Union to the extent necessary for the performance of the duties. |

One of these must be one of the five languages of the Office, namely, English (EN), German (DE), Spanish (ES), French (FR) and Italian (IT).

4.   ADVANTAGES

In order to select the best qualified candidates for interview, the following criteria will be considered an advantage:

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| — | university or postgraduate degree in law, |

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| — | professional experience in jurisdictional or equivalent activities, |

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| — | managerial experience or experience in coordinating teams, |

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| — | ability to work in a multilingual environment, |

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| — | professional experience of working in a language other than the candidate’s mother tongue, |

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| — | thorough knowledge of English and/or German. |

5.   CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The successful candidate will be appointed by the Council of the European Union upon a proposal from the Management Board of the Office for a term of 5 years. This term of office may be renewed for additional 5-year periods or until retirement age if that age is reached during the new term of office.

A contract as a member of the temporary staff pursuant to Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union in category AD, grade 13 will be offered to the appointed candidate(s).

The current basic monthly salary corresponding to the first step of this grade is EUR 12 057,21 (1 July 2015). Removal expenses, family, travel and installation allowances depending on the personal situation are provided, as well as accident and health insurance and a pension scheme. Pay is subject to European tax and is therefore not liable to any national tax. Other deductions laid down in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities are applied. Dependent children can attend the European School in Alicante free of charge.

A Chairperson of a Board of Appeal appointed as a result of this selection procedure and whose term of office is being renewed for an additional 5-year period in accordance with Article 136(3) of the Regulation (EU) 2015/2424, can be reclassified by the Management Board of the Office on proposal of the President of the Boards of Appeal in function group AD, grade 14, in view of their previous experience and performance as a Chairperson of a Board of Appeal.

Employment shall be terminated either at the end of the term or at the request of the appointed candidate, upon a 3 months’ notice, without prejudice to the relevant provisions of the abovementioned Conditions of Employment.

Pursuant to Article 136 EUTMR, the chairpersons of the Boards of Appeal shall be independent. They shall not be bound by any instructions in their decisions. Members shall devote themselves fully to the performance of their duties and shall not be guided by personal or national interest, or any outside influences of whatever kind. They may not be removed from office unless there are serious ground for such removal and the Court of Justice, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 136(6) EUTMR, takes a decision to this effect.

6.   HOW TO APPLY

Applications shall be submitted preferably by email, to the following email address:

MBBCSecretariat@euipo.europa.eu

using the application form available on the Office’s website:

https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/vacancies

Applications sent by courier should be addressed to:

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| Chairperson of the Management Board |
| EUIPO — European Union Intellectual Property Office |
| Avenida de Europa, 4 |
| 03008 Alicante |
| SPAIN |

Applications must arrive before midnight on 20 July 2016.

Please note, in particular, that all sections of the form must be thoroughly completed. An incomplete application form (for example one bearing remarks such as ‘see CV or motivation letter attached’) will not be taken into account.

Candidates who are invited to interview (see selection procedure below) will also be required by the time of the interview to have supplied the relevant documents supporting the basic requirements laid down, and other qualifications and experience claimed in their application:

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| — | copy of an identity document (such as passport or ID card), |

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| — | copies of diplomas, |

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| — | copies of certificates relating to the professional experience mentioned in point 3. |

Other documents, particularly curriculum vitae, will not be taken into consideration. It is to be noted that any qualifications or professional experience which cannot be supported by documentary evidence, such as copies of diplomas or certificates of employment, will be disregarded and that this may result in the application being rejected.

7.   SELECTION PROCEDURE

The selection procedure will be conducted subject to control of the Management Board of the Office. A Preparatory Subcommittee appointed by the Management Board will conduct a preliminary evaluation of applications and will carry out interviews with the best qualified candidates. The Management Board will then decide on a short list to be submitted to the Council of the European Union for a final decision.

Interviews will be carried out in Alicante. Candidates invited for interview will be informed in due time of the exact date and time. The interview will be held in one of the languages of the Office (EN, DE, ES, FR, IT) other than the candidate’s mother tongue as indicated in the application form.

8.   EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The Office applies a policy of equal opportunities and accepts applications without distinction on the grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

9.   PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

As the body responsible for organising the selection, the Office ensures that applicants’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the EU institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data[(1)](#ntr1-CA2016204EN.01000101-E0001). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

10.   APPEAL

If a candidate considers that he/she has been adversely affected by a particular decision, at any stage of the selection, he/she can lodge an administrative complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials and other servants of the European Union, at the following address:

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| EUIPO — European Union Intellectual Property office |
| Human Resources Department |
| Avenida de Europa, 4 |
| 03008 Alicante |
| SPAIN |

They can also submit a judicial appeal under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 91 of the Staff Regulations to the:

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| European Union Civil Service Tribunal |
| Boulevard Konrad Adenauer |
| 2925 Luxembourg |
| LUXEMBOURG |

For details on how to submit an appeal, please consult the website of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal: http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/T5\_5230//

11.   FURTHER INFORMATION

Further information may be obtained from:

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| Ms Susana PÉREZ FERRERAS |
| Director of the Human Resources Department |
| EUIPO — European Union Intellectual Property Office |
| Office AE04-P4-069/70 |
| Avenida de Europa 4 |
| 03008 Alicante |
| SPAIN |
| Email: Susana.PEREZ@euipo.europa.eu |

Note: If there are discrepancies between the different linguistic versions, the English one should be taken as the correct version.

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