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On Friday, December 07, 2007, I had reported on a decision of the EPO Opposition Division revoking a patent EP0927945 originally awarded to  Amazon.com, Inc.,  on April 23, 2003, during the 'hot phase' of the debate on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions.The title of the patent was 'Method and system for placing a purchase order via a communications network ' Claim 1 thereof read as follows:

Earlier in May 2009 I had reported that Ms Brimelow is not going to apply for a second term in Office as President of the European Patent Office beyond her term ending in June 2010. After considerable woes, the Administrative Council (AC) of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg) eventually managed to elect her successor by a 3/4 majority of votes on March 01, 2010.

On the very same day, Ms Alison Brimelow has held the second Annual Francis Gurry Lecture at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

The Francis Gurry Intellectual Property Lecture was established by Melbourne Law School, in conjunction with the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia, in 2009. The lecture is named in honour of the Law School's distinguished alumnus, Dr Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Not aiming at a second term as President of EPO and preparing to retire from her office, it can be assumed that Ms Brimelow felt free to talk on certain issues in relation to her role with less restrictions and considerateness as usual. With other words, Ms Brimelow's presentation at Melbourne University might resemble something like a privileged peek behind the scenes of European patent politics. Hence, I would be inclined to recommend reading her presentation in full. Below is an excerpt giving some overview on the topics covered; however, it is not intended to replace the full text:

There are fresh reports on Twitter saying that Mr. Benoît Battistelli today has won a sufficient majority on the session of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg) running the European Patent Office.

Mr Battistelli currently is Director General of France's Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI), and has served as Deputy Chairman of the EPO's Administrative Council. He represents France in the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation. As a graduate of the ENA he worked in public administration, followed by various functions in the Directorate General for Competition and Consumption, and in the Directorate of the Economy and Finance Ministry responsible for external economic relations, in particular with regard to trade with Italy, India and Turkey. As of 1997 he was regional director responsible for the external commerce of the Ile de France, and from 1999 was "chef de service" responsible for innovation and competitiveness, as well as industrial property rights in the Ministry for Economy and Finance. Before becoming Director of INPI he worked for the legal practice of Nicole Fontaine.

See the announcement on the Official EPO website here.

Meanwhile the EPO Central Staff Committee has pointed out that in their view EPO (and with it the staff, administration and the Administrative Council) have suffered as a result of an unfortunate tandem presidency of Mr Alain Pompidou and Ms Alison Brimelow. In particular, they argue that the Presidency of the EPO emerges discredited and weakened and the Office has strayed from the European Public Service spirit originally foreseen by its founding fathers, the social climate being extremely unsettled, which is ineffective and costly both in human and financial terms. Having in view the professional career of Mr. Battistelli indicating a strong attachement to Public Service, EPO Central Staff Committee express their hope that he will demonstrate the sorely missed capacity to listen and to respect, to present and communicate clearly his goals.

[UPDATE 2010-03-04] See also this report with details on the voting process in Managing IP