The European Patent Office: An Unexpected Success

Alec Clelland started his professional life in the UK and qualified as a Chartered Patent Attorney. After a brief time in the UK Patent Office he moved to Munich in 1980 and has been with the European Patent Office ever since. He was appointed to the boards of appeal in 1990 and spent many years in Board 3.5.1, which hears most appeals in the computer-implemented inventions field. In 2003 he was appointed chairman of board 3.5.3, which deals with telecoms and control systems. He is chairman of the professional development committee of the boards of appeal and is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (formerly the IEE).