1. Operational Quality Control in Patent Administration JJ Litzenburger 2.5.2. DQMS Study visit SIPO Munich, 2 November 2009

2. Overview 1) Organisational Structure 2) Quality : General aspects/background Operational Quality Control philosophy 3) Operational Quality Control in Patent Administration (PA-OQC) : Historical background Activities in 2009 PA-OQC logistics PA-OQC follow-up 4) Quality : the way forward in Patent Administration Focus in 2010

3. Organisational Structure

4. 1) Quality : General aspects/background First "Quality Mission of the EPO" decided in December 2004 (CA/147/04) Objective : EPO strives to set the world standard for quality in the patent granting procedure Overall responsibility entrusted to PD Quality Management beginning 2005 Mandate : implementing and developing a Quality Management System (QMS) Tools : organizing Operational Quality Control (OQC) to monitor the quality of DG1 and DG2 procedures Execution committed to Directorate 2.5.2 (DQMS)

5. Four key ingredients for Quality Highly skilled examiners Rigorous controls and commitment to improvement Comprehensive search documentation Quality Thorough and consistent procedures

6. Rigorous controls and commitment to continuous improvement EPO Mission and EPO Quality Policy –The EPO supports innovation, competitiveness and economic growth across Europe through its commitment to high quality and efficient services under the EPC. –Legal certainty, Service, Openness and Continuous improvement are at the forefront of the EPO's quality mission.

7. Rigorous controls and commitment to continuous improvement (cont'd) Quality audits –The EPO performs quality audits on the basis of an audit plan submitted to the President by PDQM. The audits performed include product audits (including granted patents and search reports) and ad hoc process audits. User Satisfaction Surveys –The EPO conducts regular User Satisfaction Surveys (USS) for an average frequency of one survey each 2 years per Joint Cluster. Complaints management –The Office has a central complaints handling department (CHD) coordinating a harmonised treatment.

8. Rigorous controls and commitment to continuous improvement (cont'd) Operational quality control in Search and Examination –During production, about 14000 files per year are subjected to a qualified review prior to issue. Operational quality control in Patent Administration –Experts review batch wise statistically significant samples of specific procedural steps of patent administration procedures on about 10000 files per year.

9. Operational Quality Control (OQC) philosophy Target of OQC = monitoring and assessing the quality of the work performed by the operational units during the production process supplying data on the compliance with quality requirements providing a basis for corrective action in response to the direct evaluation of the units' performance

10. Operational Quality Control (OQC) philosophy OQC schemes in place at EPO = Cluster Level Operational Quality Control (CL-OQC) focusing on quality of DG1 procedures followed by examiners in their Joint Clusters Operational Quality Control for Patent Administration procedures (PA- OQC) analysing the compliance of DG2 procedures executed by PA staff in the SIS units supporting the DG1 Joint Clusters

11. "Continuous improvement" Monitoring Identify the cause for the problem Identify the problem Corrective/ preventive action product ? ?... Training Instructions

12. 2) Operational Quality Control in Patent Administration (PA- OQC) - Overview History of PA-OQC Objectives of PA-OQC Logistics of PA-OQC PA-OQC in 2009 Following up on PA-OQC (with example)

13. PA-OQC historical background initiated within Patent Administration by a Quality Team of 3 persons under the lead of Georges Chebance and started in 2006 with a cross- site pilot concentrating first on Receiving Section and Examination procedures extended to all operational SIS-Units after evaluation of the results of the pilot and support given by PA Senior Management all 30 SIS-Units in Patent Administration have taken part in the checks of 5 specific procedures (Receiving Section EP and EPCT, Search Non-Unity, Examination and Opposition) since 2007 files to be checked are randomly selected using a dedicated programme (time spread of 15 weeks before start of OQC) a total of almost 20000 dossiers reviewed between 2007 and 2008

14. PA-OQC current situation from January 1, 2009 the Quality Team was transferred to DQMS about 9000 more files to be checked in the same five procedures (ongoing until end of week 48) by the end of the year collected data will have been analyzed to identify systematic errors made in each procedure recommendations for corrective actions aiming to avoid systematic errors from recurring must be implemented and monitored

15. PA-OQC objectives identify problematic areas to permit line management to introduce necessary remedial measures at the end of the OQC an analysis of the findings is given by the Quality Team to the Managers concerned Managers are responsible for taking the necessary steps to improve quality in their SIS-Units by –organising workshops and/or –extra training where necessary Remarks : OQC is not evaluating individual performance OQC should be understood as an instrument for continuously improving the level of quality of the products delivered by PA staff to both external and internal customers

16. PA-OQC logistics (Quality Nominee) : Selection by SIS-Unit Manager : –should be a recognized expert in the procedure to be checked –must have a reliable judgement of the legal background related to the work under review –should have good interpersonal skills and be respected by peers Responsibilities : –performs checks on randomly selected files –records findings electronically in dedicated database –initiates rework in case of negative findings –works on a confidential basis and together with his SIS-Unit Manager and the Quality Manager

17. PA-OQC logistics (Quality Team) : Responsibilities : –allowing access to database to all selected Quality Nominees –reviewing list of files extracted for conformity –preparing folder with information for each Quality Nominee –organizing kick-off meetings to start each OQC Review of progress on OQC programme : –regular control of collected data –periodic contact with Quality Nominees to get feedback –reminder to SIS-Unit Manager if progress is slow

18. PA-OQC activities in 2009 : 5 procedures offered to the SIS-Units : –Receiving Section-EP, –Receiving Section-EPCT, –EP-Search Non-Unity, –Examination, –Opposition 2 rounds of OQC agreed with each SIS-Unit Quality Nominees proposed by the SIS-Unit Manager responsible for execution of OQC 6 to 8 weeks to perform the checks after introduction by Quality Team approximately 9000 files checked at the end of the year

19. PA-OQC schedule 2009_2

21. Follow-up on OQC : Organizing evaluation meetings with SIS-Unit Manager + Quality Nominees Presenting findings based on results concerning the SIS-Unit Recommending corrective actions to avoid errors from recurring Discussing next OQC to be selected by SIS-Unit

22. Example of results of OQC (Overview)

23. Example of checklist detail

24. Example of results of OQC (Detail)

25. 3) Quality : the way forward Focus in PA for 2010 :  extend the scope of the quality checks to also include more in- depth review of specific phases of certain procedures (CORI, oral proceedings, remittal from the Boards of Appeal)  harmonized selection of the Quality Nominees based on a profile agreed to by PA Management  monitoring the follow up on the results of the OQC' s (standard feedback form collected from the line managers of the operational support units)  communicating quality objectives via PA Newsletter to increase awareness amongst PA staff

26. Questions Do you have any questions regarding this presentation on PA-OQC ?