16.11.2012

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CA 352/5

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VACANCY NOTICE FOR TWO POSTS OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARDS OF APPEAL (M/F)

VEXT/12/820/AD11/BoA — MEMBERS

(2012/C 352 A/02)

1.   THE OFFICE FOR HARMONIZATION IN THE INTERNAL MARKET (OHIM)

The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs), ‘the Office’, is established by Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the Community trade mark (1).

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 trade marks and designs registered by the Office produce their effects throughout the whole of the European Union.

Currently the Office has 780 000 Community trade mark and 461 000 Community registered design applications in force for registration. The Office's operational budget for 2012 is approximately EUR 202 million and the number of staff is in the region of 740.

The Office is headed by a President. It is organised into various departments, which are run by directors who have been delegated tasks and powers to run operations. The Boards of Appeal have been established under the Regulation as a separate management unit within the Office to provide an independent review of Office decisions, with further appeals being made to the European Courts in Luxembourg. The Boards are organised into a number of boards, each of which consists of a Chair and several Members. Currently there are three Chairpersons and 14 Members who are supported by legal assistants and other staff, numbering approximately 80 staff in all.

In 2011, 2 622 appeals were filed and 2 166 decisions issued. Overseeing the work is a President of the Boards of Appeal, who takes overall responsibility for the flow of work and management matters.

The OHIM 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.

The languages of the Office are Spanish, German, English, French and Italian.

The Office has its seat in Alicante, Spain.

2.   POST TO BE FILLED

The Office is seeking candidates to establish a reserve list for filling two posts of Members of the Boards of Appeal.

3.   DESCRIPTION OF FUNCTIONS

Members of the Boards of Appeal review cases and prepare decisions on appeals against decisions of the first instance of the Office (trade mark examination, opposition, cancellation and design invalidity). Decisions are made by panels of three Members chaired by a Chairperson. To perform his or her duties, a Member is helped by a legal assistant and administrative staff. Each Member is expected to prepare about 130 draft decisions a year and participate as a third Member in the decision-making of approximately 250 more cases.

4.   APPOINTMENT

Members of the Boards of Appeal are appointed, for a period of five years, by the Administrative Board of the Office. This term of office may be renewed for additional five-year periods or until retirement age if that age is reached during the new term of office.

The date foreseen for taking up the duties is during 2013/2014.

5.   CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The chosen candidates will be offered a five-year contract (for the duration of the mandate as Member of the Boards of Appeal) as a Member of the temporary staff pursuant to Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, in the function group of administrators (AD), grade 11. This contract is directly linked to the mandate as Member of the Boards of Appeal and therefore will be automatically terminated at the expiry of the term of office. The basic monthly salary corresponding to the first step of this grade is currently EUR 9 115,76. There are additional salary elements reflecting marital status and dependent children. Furthermore, various allowances for removals and travel are provided, as well as accident and health insurance and a pension scheme. Pay is subject to European Union tax and other deductions laid down in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union. It is however exempt from any national tax. Dependent children can attend the European School in Alicante free of charge.

Any Member of the Boards of Appeal appointed as a result of this selection procedure and whose term of office was renewed for a further term of office in accordance with Article 136(2) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009, could 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 the Boards of Appeal.

Employment shall be terminated either on the date established in the contract or at the request of the Member of the temporary staff in question, upon the conclusion of three months' notice, without prejudice to the relevant provisions of the abovementioned conditions of employment.

6.   QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Candidates must be able to work in a multilingual environment (a body of the European Union). A large number of cases must be decided within reasonable time limits and in a collegial way, following objectives defined by the President of the Boards of Appeal.

The minimum qualifications and experience required are as follows:

—

a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four years or more, or a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years,

—

a minimum of 15 years of professional experience, corresponding to the category of the post and which has been acquired, after the date of the abovementioned degree, by the closing date for the submission of applications, at least five of which must have been spent in the field of intellectual property and, in particular, in the area of trade marks and/or designs,

—	a thorough knowledge of one official language of the European Union and a satisfactory knowledge of a second language. One of these languages must be one of the five languages of the OHIM, namely, Spanish, German, English, French and Italian.

The following will be considered as advantages:

—	a university degree in law,

—	professional experience of working in a language other than the candidate's mother tongue,

—	thorough knowledge of English or German.

The successful candidate must also meet the general conditions for employment as a servant of the European Union indicated in Article 12 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, notably:

—	be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union,

—	have fulfilled any obligations imposed on him by the laws concerning military service,

—	must not have been convicted or found guilty of a criminal offence,

—	must be physically fit to carry out the duties.

Moreover, the successful candidate must be able to complete a full five-year mandate before reaching retirement age, i.e. the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 65.

7.   SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

Applications may 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:

http://oami.europa.eu/ows/rw/pages/OHIM/career/career.en.do

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

03008 Alicante

SPAIN

Applications must arrive before midnight on 14 December 2012.

Please note, in particular, that all sections of the form must be completed. An incomplete application form (for example one bearing remarks such as ‘see CV 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 supporting documents relating to the basic requirements laid down, and other qualifications and experience claimed:

(1)	copy of an identity document (such as a passport or ID card);

(2)	copies of diplomas;

(3)	copies of certificates relating to the professional experience mentioned in point 6.

Other documents, particularly curricula vitae, will not be taken into consideration. It is to be noted, in particular, 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.

8.   SELECTION PROCEDURE

Selection will be conducted subject to the control of the Administrative Board of the Office. A pre-selection committee appointed by the Administrative Board will conduct a preliminary sifting of applications to assess admissibility, and to decide on which candidates should be invited to an interview or to other tests. On completion of the selection procedure, successful candidates will be placed on a reserve list of a maximum of four people. While offering no guarantees, inclusion on the list will mean that candidates may be offered a temporary staff contract, depending on the requirements of the Boards of Appeal. The reserve list will be valid until 31 December 2014.

9.   PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

As the body responsible for organising the selection, the OHIM 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 (2). 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, he/she can lodge a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union, at the following address:

Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market

Resources Department

Human Resources Area

Avenida de Europa, 4

03008 Alicante

SPAIN

11.   FURTHER INFORMATION

Further information may be obtained from:

Mr Ralph PETHKE

Director of the Resources Department

Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market

(Trade Marks and Designs)

Office AE04-A-P4-069

Avenida de Europa, 4

03008 Alicante

SPAIN

e-mail: ralph.pethke@oami.europa.eu

If there are discrepancies between the different linguistic versions, the English should be taken as the correct version.

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(1)  OJ L 78, 24.3.2009, p. 1. Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 is the codified version of Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark, which has been substantially amended.

(2)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

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