Archambeau loses bid to stay on as EUIPO chief
Lower than estimated volume of applications filed at the office this year | Vacancy for the post to be published soon | Committee sets office’s 2023 budget.
The executive director of the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), Christian Archambeau, will not resume his post after he failed to be re-elected at a Management Board and Budget Committee meeting.
The decision was confirmed by the EUIPO on November 24 following the meeting held last week when Archambeau fell short of the two-thirds majority required to secure his position for another four years.
His mandate as executive director will end on September 30, 2023, and a vacancy notice for the executive director position will be published shortly, the EUIPO confirmed.
Drop in applications
The development comes after a lower than estimated volume of applications was filed at the office this year, which had a “consequent effect on both revenue and expenditure”.
Due to the lower than estimated volume of applications with the consequent effect on both revenue and expenditure during 2022, the members amended the office’s budget for this year to €530,946,114 (approximately $554 million).
Archambeau became executive director in 2018, after he had worked as the EUIPO’s deputy executive director under former director António Campinos.
He originally joined the EUIPO in 2010, and before that he held positions as principal director at the European Patent Office and in management roles at the European Space Agency.
The committee that determined Archameau’s fate comprises representatives from the EU member states, the European Commission and the European Parliament.
Representatives from the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property, the EPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Community Plant Variety Office and user associations attend as observers during the non-confidential parts of the meetings.
New budget set
During the meeting, held on Tuesday, November 22, the members renewed Jorma Hanski as chairperson of the management board for a term of four years starting on January 1, 2023.
And the board also decided to extend the term of office of one member of the boards of appeal, Cinzia Negro.
The committee approved the office’s 2023 budget for €455, 845, 975 (approximately $475 million), and authorised the office to press ahead with an additional set of activities eligible for refunds in the framework of the SME Fund initiative 2022-2024, as well as taking the necessary steps to amend the multiannual contribution agreement with the European Commission.
Furthermore, the delegates were updated on the progress report of the action plan of the Boards of Appeal 2021-2026.
The management board also approved the office’s annual work programme 2023 and adopted a proposal for distributing the offsetting amount corresponding to the 2021 budget year.
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