 These proceedings eventually resulted in the Regional Court I of Munich () declaring in November 2017, on appeal, Corcoran innocent of all charges, including the alleged defamation.In October 2015, Siegfried Broß, a former judge of the German Federal Constitutional Court and the Patent Division of the Federal Court of Justice, expressed the opinion that the procedure followed by the President and the Administrative Council did not comply with the rule of law and had been conducted in a manner comparable to criminal proceedings, and that confidentiality requirements had not been adhered to.He furthermore criticized the role of EPO's internal investigation unit.