Reformatio in peius
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Reformatio in peius (from Latin reformatio, 'change' - actually, 'improvement', and peius, 'worse') is a Latin phrase used in law meaning that a decision from a court of appeal is amended to a worse one.
The case law of the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office does not allow a decision at appeal to put a sole appellant in a worse position. Hence in relation to appeals, the term "prohibition of reformatio in peius" basically means that a person should not be placed in a worse position as a result of filing an appeal. Thus, in general, EPO Boards of Appeal are prevented from going beyond the request of a sole appellant to put it in a worse position that it was before it appealed.
The central case detailing this principle is G 4/93 consolidated with G 9/92.
