With almost 7 000 employees, the European Patent Office (EPO) is the second‑largest public service institution in Europe. It supports innovation, competitiveness and economic growth across Europe through a commitment to high‑quality and efficient services delivered under the European Patent Convention (EPC), its founding treaty. It has a yearly budget of EUR billion, entirely financed by the fees paid by its users.

The Boards of Appeal (BoA) are the first and final judicial instance in the procedures before the EPO. Their task is to review contested decisions of the EPO's departments of first instance within the framework of the EPC. The Legal Research Service of the BoA is a unit providing them with legal support and disseminating information on their case law.

Lawyer in the Legal Research Service of the Boards of Appeal

Your main responsibilities

• Drafting reports and studies for the BoA and the President of the BoA on legal questions, in particular concerning civil procedure and patent law
• Analysing and reporting on the case law of the BoA as well as patent-related decisions handed down by national courts in the EPC contracting states
• Preparing patent-law-related publications in English, French and German
• Supporting the President of the BoA and the Director of Legal Research and Administration on legal issues
• Giving lectures for internal and external training purposes

What we expect from you

• Completed advanced university degree in law
• Excellent legal research, analysis and drafting skills
• Interest or knowledge in the field of industrial property, ideally patent law
• Very good communication skills (oral and written)
• Excellent knowledge of English (preferably native speaker or full professional/bilingual proficiency)
• Very good practical IT skills, especially in using electronic search tools
• A highly service-oriented approach
• A systematic, results-oriented approach and a sense of initiative
• Experience of working in an international environment

Your qualifications

• Diploma of completed studies at master's level or – in exceptional cases – equivalent professional experience
• Generally, an excellent knowledge (at least C1) of one official language (English, French or German) and ability to understand the other two. In exceptional cases, excellent knowledge (at least C1) of one official language and working knowledge (at least B2) of another. In such cases, the willingness to learn the third language and to reach level B2 within a set time frame would be required.
• Citizenship of one of the member states of the European Patent Organisation

Interested in this position?
We are happy to get in touch with you! You can send your application by using the "Apply" button.

Process and timeline
The successful candidate will be selected on the basis of qualifications and relevant experience, supplemented as appropriate by interviews, tests and/or a personality questionnaire. It is intended to hold the interviews in week, in Munich.

* after deduction of EPO internal tax and before deduction of staff contributions to the social-security and pension schemes. The salary range depends on experience.

To foster gender diversity, EPO encourages applications from women.

The EPO is an equal opportunities employer and supports workforce diversity as a signatory to the Diversity Charter (Charta der Vielfalt) since 2010. All applications for vacant positions will be welcomed and considered on the professional merits of the applicant against the role profile for the position regardless of nationality, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, parental responsibilities, age, religion or belief.

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