EPO 次期長官候補

来年6月30日をもって引退する現EPO長官アリソン女史の後継候補のノミネートが15日に締め切られました。
候補者は4名です。(IP::JUR) (IAM Magazine) (Intellectual Property Watch)

• Ms Susanne AS SIVBORG (Sweden), Director General of the Swedish Patent and Registration Office
  Susanne Sivborg lacks the senior national registry experience of her opponents. However, Sweden currently holds the EU presidency and Sivborg will be playing an active role as the Swedes seek to take forward discussions on the Community patent and the single patent jurisdiction. That will give her the chance to make a strong impression and to shake a lot of hands. Her strong industry background may also be attractive to those looking across the Atlantic to the recent appointment of David Kappos as Director of the USPTO.
  
  
• Mr Benoît BATTISTELLI (France), Director General of the Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle
  The Battistelli candidature is an intriguing one, given that Pompidou is also French. Normally, you would not expect two nationals from the same country to hold a post such as this one within the space of three years. Battistelli, too, would realise this, but he is still standing - maybe he knows something we do not. There is no doubt that he is very well connected politically in France, which may help him.
  
  
• Mr Roland GROSSENBACHER (Switzerland), Director of the Eidgenössisches Institut für Geistiges Eigentum
  Grossenbacher has been a player in Europe for quite a while now and was a powerful chairman of the Adminstrative Council for nine years. I have heard that his candidature is supported by the Germans, which, if true, probably counts for a lot. Against that, he is a divisive figure and he comes from a country that is not a member state of the European Union.
  
  
• Mr Jesper KONGSTAD (Denmark), Director General of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office
  Kongstad also ticks a lot of boxes in that he has been a prominent figure in the Adminstrative Council and comes from a small country which is also a member state of the EU. After successive presidencies held by a German, French and British national, members of the European Patent Organisation may feel it is time to give the job to someone from outside Europe's big three.