Benoît Battistelli (born 12 July 1950 in Paris, FranceEPO web site, President, Benoît Battistelli , August 2011.) is a French civil servant, former president of the European Patent Office (EPO) (2010-2018), and former head of the French National Industrial Property Institute (INPI). Arrêté du 25 juin 2010 portant nomination du directeur général par intérim de l'Institut national de la propriété industrielle, NOR: ECEZ1015755A, JORF n°0148 du 29 juin 2010 page 11672, texte n° 63. Consulted on July 1, 2010 (legifrance.gouv.fr).
Career Benoît Battistelli graduated from the École Nationale d'Administration (ÉNA, English: National School of Administration) in 1978. Les forums du financement et de l’Innovation web site, Benoît Batistelli . Consulted on March 23, 2008. From 1978 to 2002, he held various posts in French government departments and the French embassies in Italy, India, Poland and Turkey. Later, from June 2002 to April 2004, he was assistant director of staff of Nicole Fontaine, former President of the European Parliament.
From 12 May 2004 to June/July 2010, he headed (more precisely, he was the directeur général, i.e. chief executive officer) the French National Industrial Property Institute (INPI, standing for Institut national de la propriété industrielle in French), in charge of patents, trademarks and industrial design rights. INPI web site, Le Conseil d'administration . Consulted on March 23, 2008.France names new patent office chief, Managing Intellectual Property, Weekly News, May 2004. Consulted on March 23, 2008.
Battistelli chaired the Supervisory Board of the European Patent Academy from July 2005 to July 2008. He was also chairman of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation.European Patent Office (EPO) web site, Administrative Council, Composition . Consulted on March 8, 2009. He was elected to the post of Deputy Chairman of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation on 5 December 2006 for a three-year term., INPI web site, Benoît Battistelli, Directeur général de l'INPI, est élu vice-président du conseil d'administration de l'Office européen des brevets (OEB) , Communiqués de presse (Press release), December 6, 2006. Consulted on March 23, 2008. Then, later the Administrative Council appointed him as its Chairman for a three-year term, from 5 March 2009 until March 2012,EPO web site, Benoît Battistelli to head the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation , News, December 11, 2008. Consulted on December 11, 2008. although his election in March 2010 as President of the European Patent Office meant that he had to step down as Chairman of the Administrative Council.
In 2008, he had been named as one of the potential candidates to succeed Kamil Idris to lead the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),Eklavya Gupte, Race to succeed Idris underway, Managing Intellectual Property, January 11, 2008. Consulted on March 23, 2008. but Francis Gurry was eventually selected for the post.
President of the EPO On 1 March 2010 he was elected president of the European Patent Office (EPO), after a long and controversial series of meetings of the Administrative Council. He took up the post on 1 July 2010, for a term of five years.EPO web site, Applications received for the post of EPO President , 17 September 2009. Consulted on September 18, 2009.EPO web site, Benoît Battistelli elected EPO President , News, 1 March 2010. Consulted on 2 March 2010. V. Bernau, Schwieriges Amt, schwere Wahl , Süddeutsche Zeitung online, 1 March 2010. Consulted on 2 March 2010. He was the sixth president of the EPO, the second Frenchman to hold the post, and the first president who has previously held the post of Chairman of the Administrative Council.
Under Battistelli's tenure, the EPO played an important role in the preparatory work for the introduction of the unitary patent, which came into existence on 1 June 2023. In this context, Battistelli was listed in 2014 by the Managing Intellectual Property magazine as one of the 50 most influential people in intellectual property.IP's most influential people 2014, Managing Intellectual Property, 21 July 2014. Consulted on 2 September 2014. In June 2014, Battistelli's term of office as EPO president was extended for a further three years until 30 June 2018,"Battistelli given three-year extension at EPO", World Intellectual Property Review, 30 June 2014Report on the 140th meeting of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (25-26 June 2014), OJ EPO 2014, A79 (Online publication date: 31.8.2014). amidst concerns from the EPO staff."EPO President Battistelli’s Term Extended Amid Staff Concerns", Intellectual Property Watch, 30 June 2014 In July 2018, he was succeeded by António Campinos.
Discontent within the EPO staff Battistelli's presidency has encountered discontent among the staff and has been marked by industrial actions with an escalation of the conflict in 2014."Streit beim Europäischen Patentamt eskaliert", Süddeutsche Zeitung, 11.03.2014"European Patent Office Staff Calls Strike; President Battistelli Reacts", Intellectual Property Watch, 19.03.2014"EPO facing more strike action", World Intellectual Property Review, 28.05.2014"EPO staff in Battistelli fight" ", World Intellectual Property Review, 28.05.2014 Discontent on the part of staff has been attributed to Battistelli's style of management which, according to reports in the German newspapers Die Zeit and Die Welt, was perceived by staff as being unduly autocratic and unsuited to a European intergovernmental body such as the EPO,"Umstritten und souverän", Die Zeit, 30.03.2014English translation of "Umstritten und souverän": "Controversial and sovereign" and, according to an article in the French newspaper Le Monde, has been brought in relation with suicides among the EPO staff since 2013."Un si bon office", Le Monde, 06.04.2015 Battistelli's management style has also been criticized in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf,"Terreur op werkvloer onder Franse despoot", De Telegraaf, 24 June 2014 (in Dutch)."Franse despoot herbenoemd bij Octrooibureau", De Telegraaf, 26 June 2014 (in Dutch). and by Philip Cordery, member of the French National Assembly. (also available here ). In an interview to the German business lawyer journal JUVE, Siegfried Bross, former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, expressed the view that EPO's organization giving its president excessive powers is "principally incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)" and that EPO's president, Benoît Battistelli, acted in 2015 against an EPO staff member "without legal legitimacy"."EPA-Disziplinarverfahren: 'Verwaltungsrat und Battistelli handeln ohne rechtliche Grundlage'", JUVE, 29.10.2015
On 9 March 2018 a petition signed by 924 patent examiners denounced "the submission to constraints that are no longer compatible with fulfilling appropriately our duties within the Search and Examination divisions". They wrote: “We are far too often put in front of the dilemma of either working according to the European Patent Convention and respecting the examiner’s guidelines, or issuing 'products' as our hierarchy demands".
Computer tapping controversy In June 2015, shortly before a meeting of the EPO President with the European Parliament, news broke of a controversial computer tapping action which apparently took place at the EPO towards the end of 2014. An article published in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung stated that it had obtained an internal report which showed that the EPO had tapped two publicly accessible computers that had been identified as a source for leaked information. The systems were placed under surveillance using cameras and keylogging and this led to the suspension of a member of staff.Intellectual Property Watch, "Report: European Patent Office Tapped Computers", Intellectual Property Watch, 11 June 2015 These events led the Bavarian Data Protection Commissioner, Thomas Petri, and the Federal German Data Protection Commissioner, Andrea Voßhoff, to raise concerns regarding data protection matters at the EPO.Katja Riedel, "Europäisches Patentamt: Forderung nach externem Datenschützer", Süddeutsche Zeitung, 10 June 2015 (in German)Thomas Magenheim-Hörmann, "Europäisches Patentamt: Europäisches Patentamt: Beschäftigte bespitzelt", Münchner Merkur, 13 June 2015 (in German) - English, French and Dutch translations of "Europäisches Patentamt - Datenschützer fordern Aufsicht für Patentamt": "European Patent Office - Data Protection Commissioner calls for oversight of Patent Office"
Local political life As of 2014, he was also town councillor (French: "conseiller municipal") of the French municipality of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines).
Honorary degrees In 2013, Battistelli received an honorary professorship from Renmin University of China, Beijing, and, in 2014, the Menéndez Pelayo International University in Santander, Spain, awarded him an honorary doctorate.
References
Further reading
External links Benoît Battistelli at the European Patent Office Benoît Battistelli at Who's Who in France Interview (dailymotion.com) (JoCIF) Questions by epi to the candidates for the position as President of the EPO, Mr. Benoît Battistelli by the European Patent Institute (epi), October 2009.