Panelists

The Center appoints one attorney-at-law and one patent attorney as panelists from among a list of candidates.

To verify that a panelist has no interest in the applicant to the AOO, the panelist shall be obligated to disclose such information, such as by submitting a written statement with respect to such interests to the Center and the applicant.

In addition, the applicant may, when submitting a written application, designate a party whom the applicant considers to be an interested third party in connection with the case by submitting in writing a designation of specific interested parties./p>

When there are circumstances that give rise to justifiable concerns as to a panelist's impartiality or independence, the applicant of the AOO may put forward a motion to challenge the panelist. When there are grounds for such a request, the Center will accept the challenge and appoint another panelist.