19.11.2014

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CA 412/1

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VACANCY NOTICE FOR THE POST OF MEMBER OF A BOARD OF APPEAL

2014/C 412 A/01

The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs), ‘the Office’, is seeking candidates to fill the post(s) of Member of a Board of Appeal.

Job title	MEMBER OF A BOARD OF APPEAL
Function group/grade	AD 11
Type of contract	Temporary Agent
Reference	VEXT/14/957/AD 11/BOA_Member
Deadline for applications	17 December 2014 24:00 Alicante time (CET)
Place of employment	Alicante, SPAIN
Date foreseen for taking up duties	During 2015/16

1.   BACKGROUND

The Office was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the Community trade mark (CTMR) (1). The Office has its seat in Alicante, Spain.

The Office is an Agency of the European Union which has legal personality and financial and administrative autonomy, and is responsible for administering the Community trade mark and design systems. Community trademarks 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 3 00  000 Community trade mark applications have led to registration. The Office exists alongside national IP offices. 1 14  479 Community trade mark applications and 23  193 Community design applications (86  840 designs) were filed during 2013. The Office’s budget for 2014 is approximately EUR 420 million and the number of posts is approximately 780.

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 fourteen members assisted by legal and administrative staff. About 80 persons work in the Boards of Appeal, including the Registry and the Knowledge and Info Support services.

In 2013, 2  602 appeals were filed and 2  568 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 63 % of all cases established English as the language of the proceedings, followed by German (22 %), Spanish (6 %), French (4 %), Italian (2 %) and others (3 %).

2.   DUTIES

The successful candidate(s) will be expected to:

Review cases and prepare decisions on appeals against decisions of the first instance of the Office (trade mark or design examination, opposition, 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 chaired by the President of the Boards of Appeal or by a single member, who must be legally qualified.

Each member is expected to prepare about 130 draft decisions per year and participate as a third member in the decision making of approximately 250 more cases.

To perform his or her duties, a member is supported by one legal assistant and one member of administrative staff.

According to service requirements, members may be appointed to one or several Boards of Appeal.

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

—	Be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union;

—	Must not have been convicted or found guilty of a criminal offence;

—	Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws concerning military service;

—	Must be physically fit to perform the duties;

—	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

—	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

—	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 eight of those 15 years must have been spent in the field of intellectual property and, in particular, in the area of trademarks and/or designs.

Language skills

—	Have a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the European Union;

—	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:

—	University or post-graduate degree in law;

—	Professional experience in jurisdictional or equivalent activities;

—	Ability to work in a multilingual environment;

—	Professional experience of working in a language other than the candidate’s mother tongue;

—	Thorough knowledge of English;

—	Thorough knowledge of any other language of the Office (EN, DE, ES, FR, IT) apart from the languages mentioned under point 3.

5.   CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The successful candidate will be appointed by the Administrative 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 (‘CEOS’) in category AD, grade 11 will be offered to the appointed candidate(s).

The current basic monthly salary corresponding to the first step of this grade is EUR 9  197,87. 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 CEOS are applied. Dependent children can attend the European School in Alicante free of charge.

A member 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(1) CTMR, can be reclassified by the Administrative Board of the Office on proposal of the President of the Boards of Appeal in function group AD, grade 12, given their previous experience as a member of a Board of Appeal.

Any member of the Boards of Appeal appointed as a result of this selection procedure:

—	who was formerly appointed as member of the Boards of Appeal by the Council pursuant to the procedure laid down in Article 136(2) CTMR, before the amendment provided in Council Regulation (EC) No 422/2004 (2); and

—	whose initial contract was established under the former CEOS; and

—	whose term of office is renewed as a result of this selection procedure; and

—	whose grade at the time of renewal is higher than the grade AD12,

may be reclassified by the Administrative Board of the Office on proposal of the President of the Boards of Appeal in a grade (up to grade AD13) and in a step such that, in accordance with the provisions laid down in the CEOS in force, his/her basic salary is at the closest possible level (by excess or by default) to the basic salary (3) he/she received at the end of his/her immediately previous term of office.

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 CEOS.

Pursuant to Article 136 CTMR, members of the Boards 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 CTMR, takes a decision to this effect.

6.   HOW TO APPLY

Applications shall be submitted preferably by e-mail, to the following e-mail address:

ABBCIF@oami.europa.eu

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

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

Applications sent by courier should be addressed to:

Chairperson of the Administrative Board

Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market

(Trade Marks and Designs)

Avenida de Europa, 4

E-03008 Alicante

SPAIN

Applications must arrive before midnight on 17 December 2014

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:

—	Copy of an identity document (such as passport or ID card);

—	Copies of diplomas;

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

Other documents, particularly curricula 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 Administrative Board of the Office. A Pre-Selection Committee appointed by the Administrative Board will conduct a preliminary evaluation of applications and will carry out interviews with the best qualified candidates. On completion of the selection procedure, successful candidates will be placed on a reserve list. Whilst inclusion on the reserve list does not guarantee employment, it gives the Office the possibility to appoint a candidate(s) from the list as a member(s) of a Board of Appeal depending on the posts available. The reserve list will be valid until 31 December 2016.

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 Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (4). 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:

Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market

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:

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:

Ms Susana PEREZ FERRERAS

Director of the Human Resources Department

Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs)

Office AE04-P4-069

Avenida de Europa 4

03008 Alicante

SPAIN

e-mail: Susana.PEREZ@oami.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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(1)  OJ L 78, 24.3.2009, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 70, 9.3.2004, p. 1.

(3)  Calculated after the final application of the multiplication factor.

(4)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

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