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V. Proceedings before the Boards of Appeal
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  5. V. Proceedings before the Boards of Appeal
  6. A. Appeal procedure
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A. Appeal procedure

Overview

A. Appeal procedure

1.Legal character of appeal procedure

1.1.General
1.2.Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA)
1.3.Suspensive effect of the appeal
1.3.1Definition of the suspensive effect of the appeal
1.4.Devolutive effect of the appeal
1.5.Accelerated processing before the boards of appeal

2.Filing and admissibility of the appeal

2.1.Transitional provisions for the EPC 2000
2.2.Appealable decisions
2.2.1Departments
2.2.2Whether there has been a decision
a)Examples of appealable decisions
b)Examples where the communication was not an appealable decision
2.2.3Interlocutory decisions
2.2.4Appeals against decisions of the boards of appeal
2.3.Board competent to hear a case
2.3.1Technical or Legal Board of Appeal
a)General
b)Technical board of appeal competent
c)Legal Board of Appeal competent
2.3.2Specific cases
a)Interruption of proceedings
b)Request for a search-fee refund
c)Interlocutory revision and reimbursement of appeal fee
2.4.Entitlement to appeal
2.4.1Formal aspects under Article 107 EPC
a)Appeal filed by wrong company
b)Appeal filed in name of representative
c)Party consisting of plurality of persons
d)Company in receivership
e)Death of the appellant (opponent)
2.4.2Party adversely affected (Article 107 EPC)
a)General
b)Patent applicant
c)Patent proprietor
d)Opponent
2.4.3Procedural status of the parties
a)Parties to appeal proceedings
b)Rights of parties under Article 107 EPC
c)The boards' duty of impartiality in inter partes proceedings
d)Existence of a company
2.5.Form and time limit of appeal
2.5.1Electronic filing of appeal
2.5.2Form and content of notice of appeal (Rule 99(1) EPC)
a)Rule 99(1)(a) EPC
b)Rule 99(1)(b) EPC
c)Rule 99(1)(c) EPC
d)Rule 99(3) EPC
2.5.3Appeal filed within the time limit
a)Notification issues
b)Languages
c)Misleading decisions of the department of first instance
2.5.4Payment of appeal fee
a)Notice of appeal not filed
b)Payment of only one appeal fee
c)Reduced fee for appeal filed by a natural person or an entity
2.5.5Appeal deemed not to have been filed
2.6.Statement of grounds of appeal
2.6.1Legal provisions
2.6.2Form of statement of grounds of appeal
2.6.3Content of the statement of grounds of appeal
a)General
b)Direct link between the contested decision and the statement of grounds of appeal
c)Adequate reasoning for an appeal against a refusal of the application
d)Adequate reasoning in an appeal filed by the opponent
e)Statement of the legal or factual reasons
f)Addressing the reasons given in the decision in the statement of grounds of appeal
g)Complete case within the meaning of Art. 12(3) RPBA 2020
h)Mere repetition of arguments
i)Objection not raised at first instance
j)Statement of grounds of appeal not filed in full
k)Duty of board to be impartial
2.6.4New case raised
a)Appeal based on the same ground for opposition
b)Taking new submissions into consideration
c)Amended claims filed
2.6.5References to earlier submissions
2.6.6Arguments need not be new or relevant
2.6.7Exceptional circumstances warranting admissibility of appeal
a)Immediately apparent the contested decision cannot be supported
b)Patent proprietor requests revocation
c)Substantial procedural violation
2.6.8No partial admissibility of appeal
2.7.Examination of the admissibility of appeal in every phase of appeal proceedings
2.8.Cases where admissibility of appeal need not be considered
2.9.Interlocutory revision
2.9.1General
2.9.2The department of first instance's obligation to rectify the decision
2.9.3Well-founded appeal within the meaning of Art. 109(1) EPC
2.9.4Competence of the department of first instance
2.9.5"Cassatory" or "reformatory" interlocutory revision

3.Substantive examination of the appeal

3.1.Binding effect of requests – no reformatio in peius
3.1.1Reformatio in peius does not apply separately to each point
3.1.2Reformatio in peius and devolutive effect of appeal
3.1.3Cases where reformatio in peius does not apply
3.1.4Patentee as sole appellant
3.1.5Opponent as sole appellant
3.1.6Revocation of patent
3.1.7Exceptions to the prohibition of reformatio in peius
a)Limited exceptions to the prohibition of reformatio in peius – G 1/99
b)Case law around G 1/99
c)Remittal to the department of first instance
d)Lack of clarity
e)Causal link
f)Undisclosed disclaimer
3.1.8Reformatio in peius and lack of cross-appeal in the EPC
3.2.Subject-matter under examination
3.2.1Primary object of the appeal proceedings – Article 12(2) RPBA 2020
3.2.2Complete case on appeal
3.2.3Opposition appeal proceedings
a)Admissibility of opposition
b)The notice of appeal
c)Unopposed subject-matter not reviewed
d)Dependent claims
e)Appeal by patentee against revocation
f)Removal of references in dependent claims
g)Abandonment of subject-matter
h)Fresh ground for opposition on appeal
i)No general review of the first-instance decision
j)Ambiguities in the claims
k)Ex officio examination of Art. 123(2) EPC
3.2.4Patentability requirements under examination in ex parte proceedings
3.3.Facts under examination – applying Article 114 EPC in appeal proceedings
3.3.1Boards to examine facts of own motion
3.4.Review of first-instance discretionary decisions
3.4.1Principles applying to the review of first-instance discretionary decisions
a)General
b)Proper exercise of discretion
c)Review of first-instance discretionary decisions taken on substantive grounds
3.4.2Development of the case law on reviewing first-instance discretionary decisions
a)Early case law on exercising discretion
b)Case law on exercise of discretion under Art. 12(4) RPBA 2007
3.4.3The boards' own discretion
a)Submissions refused at first instance admitted on appeal
b)Submissions not admitted by the boards
c)Discretion misused by the department of first instance
3.4.4Submissions admitted at first instance are part of the appeal proceedings
3.4.5Review of an opposition division's discretionary decision (not) to admit a new ground for opposition
3.4.6Review of discretion – stay of proceedings

4.New submissions on appeal – case law on the RPBA 2020

4.1.Introduction
4.1.1Legal basis
a)Legal bases in the EPC
b)Legal bases in the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal
4.1.2Primary object of appeal proceedings and the "convergent approach" to amendments made to party's case
4.2.Amendment to a party's case
4.2.1First level of the convergent approach: amendments to a party's case within the meaning of Article 12(4) RPBA 2020
a)Principles
b)Submissions on appeal not directed to requests, facts, objections, arguments or evidence on which the decision under appeal was based
c)Not admissibly raised and maintained at first instance
4.2.2Second and third levels of the convergent approach: amendments to an appeal case within the meaning of Article 13(1) and (2) RPBA 2020
a)Principles
b)Submissions at first instance not automatically part of appeal case
c)Request for dismissal of the appeal and maintenance of the patent
d)Deletion of claims or alternatives within claims
e)New request combining subject-matter of previously filed claims
f)Request paraphrased and not set out in full
g)Request considered in decision under appeal and clearly specified in grounds of appeal
h)Resubmission of withdrawn requests
i)Requests belatedly substantiated
j)Requests reordered
k)Fleshing out objections not adequately substantiated in the grounds of appeal or reply
l)New objection based on documents already on file – new arguments with factual elements
m)Further developing arguments within the framework of the appeal case as submitted so far
n)Submissions concerning interpretation of the law
o)Information supporting oral submissions
p)Translation filed later
q)Late assertion of a breach of the right to be heard
4.3.First level of the convergent approach – submissions in the grounds of appeal and the reply – Article 12(3) to (6) RPBA 2020
4.3.1Principles
4.3.2Transitional provisions
a)Applicability of Article 12(4) to (6) RPBA 2020
b)Applicability of Article 12(3) RPBA 2020
4.3.3Amendment within the meaning of Article 12(4) RPBA 2020
4.3.4Discretion under Article 12(4) RPBA 2020
a)Requirement that amendment be identified and reasoned and that timing of its filing be reasoned – Article 12(4), third and fourth sentences, RPBA 2020
b)Complexity of amendment
c)Suitability to address issues leading to decision under appeal
d)Additional issues raised – procedural economy
e)Convergence criterion
f)No objection raised by opposing party
4.3.5Incomplete case in grounds of appeal or reply – Article 12(3) RPBA 2020 in conjunction with Article 12(5) RPBA 2020
a)Principles
b)Incomplete appeal case – Article 12(3) RPBA 2020
c)Discretion under Art. 12(5) RPBA 2020
4.3.6Submissions not admitted at first instance – Article 12(6), first sentence, RPBA 2020
4.3.7Submissions that should have been submitted at first instance – Article 12(6), second sentence, RPBA 2020
4.4.Second level of the convergent approach – submissions made after filing of grounds of appeal or reply – Article 13(1) RPBA 2020
4.4.1Principles
4.4.2Transitional provisions – immediate applicability of Article 13(1) RPBA 2020
4.4.3Amendment to appeal case within the meaning of Article 13(1) RPBA 2020
4.4.4Party's duty to justify amendment
a)Principles
b)Party's duty to provide reasons for not submitting amendment at an earlier stage
c)Substantiation of amendments to patent application or patent
4.4.5Discretion under Article 13(1) RPBA 2020 – new requests
a)Deletion of claims or alternatives within claims
b)Timely and legitimate reaction to issues raised – requests admitted
c)New request in response to preliminary opinion of the board clarifying objections – admitted
d)Board's communication confirming the opposition division's or opponent's opinion – not a justification
e)Issues underlying board's conclusions already raised in the decision under appeal – request not admitted
f)Request does not prima facie overcome objection – procedural economy – not admitted
g)Claim amendments prima facie give rise to new objections – requests not admitted
h)Inclusion of possibly unsearched features – procedural economy – request not admitted
i)Claim requests becoming non-convergent by later submission of further requests – not admitted
j)Filing of reply to the appeal shortly after expiry of non-extended period – admitted
4.4.6Discretion under Article 13(1) RPBA 2020 – new facts, objections, arguments and evidence
a)New documents filed in response to experimental data submitted by the patent proprietor – admitted
b)No new complexity introduced – objection admitted
c)New lines of attack based on documents submitted during first-instance proceedings – not admitted
d)Relevance of new lines of attack for assessment of patentability – not a sufficient justification
e)New documents not prima facie relevant – not admitted
f)Late substantiation of lines of attack – additional complexity – procedural economy – submissions not admitted
g)Late-filed evidence of a public prior use – not admitted
h)Communication in preparation for the oral proceedings not an invitation to file further submissions on known objections
i)Objections not a reaction to unexpected developments in the appeal proceedings – not admitted
j)New document originating from the patent proprietor submitted by the appellant-opponent – not admitted
4.5.Third level of the convergence approach – submissions filed after notification of summons or after expiry of period specified in Rule 100(2) EPC communication – Article 13(2) RPBA 2020
4.5.1Principles
4.5.2Transitional provisions
a)Application of Article 13(1) RPBA 2020 and/or Article 13 RPBA 2007 in transitional cases
b)No contradiction between Article 13(1) RPBA 2020 and Article 13 RPBA 2007 or the EPC
c)Applicability of Article 13(2) RPBA 2020 in cases of postponement of oral proceedings
d)Applicability of Article 13(2) RPBA 2020 in cases where the statement of grounds of appeal or the reply was filed before the entry into force of the RPBA 2020
4.5.3Amendment to an appeal case within the meaning of Article 13(2) RPBA 2020
4.5.4Cogent reasons put forward by party to demonstrate exceptional circumstances
a)Principles
b)Causal link between the exceptional circumstances and the late filing
4.5.5New requests filed – exceptional circumstances established
a)Objections raised for the first time in board's communication
b)Early objection raised by examining division reintroduced by board
c)Objections or arguments raised for the first time during oral proceedings
d)Clarifying claim amendment during oral proceedings not objected to by the other party
e)Filing a slightly amended claim announced in good time
f)Claim amendment addressing all pending objections and thus avoiding oral proceedings
g)Deletion of claims or alternatives in claims
h)Editorial amendments to remove inconsistencies
i)Right to be heard violated by the examining division and no other party affected
j)Amendment not detrimental to procedural economy and no other party affected
4.5.6New requests filed – no exceptional circumstances established
a)Purpose of the board's preliminary opinion
b)Preliminary opinion of the board maintaining objections or arguments raised by examining division
c)Preliminary opinion of the board containing objections or arguments that were already part of the proceedings
d)Requested amendments could already have been filed in opposition proceedings
e)New request filed shortly before oral proceedings to overcome objections in decision under appeal
f)Party initially addresses new objection raised in preliminary opinion only by providing arguments
g)Objections or arguments which do not go beyond the framework of the earlier discussion
h)Board's opinion different from that of opposition division
i)Change in board's preliminary opinion
j)Amendment not adding anything of substance to the discussion of the objection raised
k)Prima facie allowability
l)Embodiment never claimed
m)Acceleration of the proceedings
n)Change of representative
o)Representative unable to contact appellant
p)Technical problems during videoconference – not causal for need to file only at this stage
q)COVID-19 pandemic – not causal for late filing
4.5.7New facts, objections, arguments and evidence filed – exceptional circumstances established
a)Response to a new argument of the board
b)Immediately apparent that objection raised against different request also applies to request at issue
4.5.8New facts, objections, arguments and evidence filed – no exceptional circumstances established
a)Meaning of the time limit set in the communication under Article 15(1) RPBA 2020
b)Board's preliminary opinion based exclusively on earlier submissions
c)No cogent reasons why the objection had not been raised earlier
d)No new issue raised by board's comments in communication under Article 15 RPBA 2020
e)No absolute right to discussion of all objections raised at first instance
f)Change of representative
g)Further illustration of the technical teaching by means of photographs
h)Translation
i)Prima facie relevance
4.5.9Discretion under Article 13(2) RPBA 2020 – principles
4.5.10Criteria for discretion applied to new requests
a)Amendments that prima facie overcome the issues raised and do not give rise to new objections – admitted
b)Amendments that do not prima facie overcome the issues raised and/or give rise to new objections – not admitted
c)Amendments and resulting subject-matter not surprising for the opposing party – request admitted
d)Direct reaction addressing the board's objections in ex parte proceedings - admitted
e)Amendment shifting focus to feature that was previously optional – not admitted
f)Requests could and should have been filed during first-instance proceedings
g)No "last chance" doctrine
4.5.11Criteria for discretion applied to new facts, objections, arguments and evidence
a)Late submission of new facts and evidence contrary to the principle of fair proceedings and procedural economy
b)Prima facie relevance
c)Procedural economy – early and complete presentation of parties' cases
d)Procedural economy – no carte blanche to amend claims at wish

5.New submissions on appeal – case law on the RPBA 2007

5.1.Introduction
5.1.1General rule that RPBA 2020 immediately applicable and exceptions
5.1.2RPBA 2007 provisions on late-filed submissions
5.2.Principles established by the case law on late-filed submissions under the RPBA 2007
5.2.1Inter partes proceedings
5.2.2Ex parte proceedings
5.3.The boards' discretion
5.4.State of proceedings
5.4.1General
5.4.2Procedural economy
a)Late-filed requests
b)Late-filed facts and evidence
5.5.Case amended after oral proceedings arranged – Article 13(1) and (3) RPBA 2007
5.5.1Whether discretion conferred under Article 13(3) RPBA 2007
5.5.2Late-filed requests
a)Filing of requests after arrangement of the oral proceedings
b)Filing of requests during the oral proceedings
5.5.3Late-filed documents and evidence
5.5.4Absence from the oral proceedings – Article 15(3) and (6) RPBA 2007
a)Absence of applicant (patent proprietor) from oral proceedings
b)Absence of opponent from oral proceedings
5.5.5New submissions after debate closed
5.6.Parties' right to submit observations on amendments – Article 13(2) RPBA 2007
5.7.Communication of a board of appeal
5.8.Circumstances extraneous to proceedings
5.8.1Introduction
5.8.2Change of representative
5.8.3Illness of representative
5.8.4Change of ownership or representation
5.8.5Business reasons
5.9.New submissions in proceedings resumed before the boards
5.10.Late submission of new arguments and lines of attack
5.10.1New arguments on appeal
5.10.2Whether amendment or merely elaboration on existing case
5.10.3New arguments and lines of attack admitted
5.10.4New arguments and lines of attack not admitted
5.10.5New documents used to back up arguments
5.11.Article 12(4) RPBA 2007
5.11.1General principles – substantiation requirement – duty to facilitate the first-instance proceedings
5.11.2Relationship between Article 12(4) and Article 13 RPBA 2007
5.11.3Inter partes appeal procedure
a)Documents, evidence and objections which could have been presented in the first-instance proceedings
b)Documents and evidence admitted – appropriate and timely reaction
c)Documents and evidence not admitted by the opposition division
d)Resubmission of objections withdrawn at the opposition stage
e)Requests which could have been presented at first instance
f)Tidying up claims examined by the opposition division
g)Requests admitted – appropriate and timely reaction
h)Requests not admitted by the opposition division
i)Resubmission of requests withdrawn at opposition stage
j)Reintroduction of subject-matter abandoned during examination
5.11.4Ex parte appeal procedure
a)Requests which could have been presented in the examination proceedings
b)Admission of requests already refused by the examining division
c)Resubmission of requests withdrawn during examination
d)Feature re-introduced on appeal
5.12.Criteria for consideration of amended claims
5.12.1Principles applicable to amended claims
5.12.2Withdrawal and resubmission of a a request on appeal
5.12.3Clear allowability of amended claims
a)General
b)Examples
5.12.4Response to objections
5.12.5Converging or diverging versions of claims
5.12.6Unsubstantiated requests
5.12.7Discretion to admit amended claims at any stage of the appeal proceedings
5.12.8No absolute right to a "last chance"
5.12.9Change of subject-matter
5.12.10Need for additional search
a)General
b)Features taken from the description
c)Additional search exceptionally performed
5.12.11Dependent claims
5.12.12Number of auxiliary requests
5.12.13Amended claims not admitted with divisional applications pending
5.12.14Reverting to broader claims, especially those as granted
5.13.Criteria for considering late-filed facts and evidence
5.13.1Legitimate reaction to the first-instance decision
a)General
b)Late-filed submissions admitted
c)Evidence of common general knowledge
5.13.2Relevance
5.13.3Complexity of new subject-matter
5.13.4Cases of abuse of procedure
a)Late-filed documents admitted
b)Late-filed documents not admitted
5.13.5Late submission of experimental data
a)Test reports admitted into the proceedings
b)Test reports not admitted into the proceedings
5.13.6Public prior use
a)No consideration of late-filed evidence of public prior use
b)Consideration of late-filed evidence of public prior use
5.13.7Admission of submissions relating to Article 55(1)(a) EPC
6.Parallel proceedings

7.Termination of appeal proceedings

7.1.Closure of the substantive debate
7.1.1Decision taken as the file stands
7.1.2Proceedings after delivery of the decision
7.2.Interlocutory decisions of a board
7.3.Withdrawal of the appeal
7.3.1Article 114(1) EPC and withdrawal of the appeal
7.3.2Board's powers to decide on issues after withdrawal of the appeal
7.3.3Partial withdrawal of appeal by sole appellant and opponent
7.3.4No withdrawal of appeal with retrospective effect
7.3.5Request for withdrawal of appeal to be unambiguous
7.3.6Conditional withdrawal of appeal
7.3.7Correction of withdrawal of appeal under Rule 139 EPC
7.4.Deemed withdrawal of patent application
7.5.Legitimate interest in the continuation of the grant and the appeal proceedings

8.Reasons for the decision

8.1.Reasons in abridged form
8.1.1Abridged reasons under Art. 15(7) RPBA 2020
8.1.2Abridged reasons under Art. 15(8) RPBA 2020
8.1.3Decisions issued in written proceedings

9.Remittal to the department of first instance

9.1.General
9.1.1Article 111(1) EPC
9.1.2Article 11 RPBA 2020
9.1.3Art. 11 RPBA 2007
9.2.Exercise of discretion to remit
9.2.1No absolute right to have issue decided on at two instances
9.2.2Remittal and scope of review
a)Primary object of appeal proceedings is to review decision under appeal in a judicial manner
b)Ex parte proceedings
c)Inter partes proceedings
9.2.3TRIPS
9.3.Special reasons for remittal
9.3.1Introduction
9.3.2Non-examined patentability issues
a)Introduction
b)Primary object of the appeal proceedings
c)Undue burden
d)Different interpretation of terms
9.3.3Procedural economy
9.3.4Financial situation of a party
9.3.5Remittal following amendments to the claims
a)Ex parte cases
b)Inter partes cases
c)Discrepancies between the clean and the annotated versions of a request
9.3.6Incomplete search
a)Features considered non-technical
b)Closest prior art not suitable or misinterpreted
c)Additional prior-art search necessary
9.3.7Opposition withdrawn
9.4.Remittal following fundamental deficiencies
9.4.1Article 11 RPBA 2020
9.4.2Article 11 RPBA 2007
9.4.3The term "fundamental deficiencies"
9.4.4Fundamental deficiencies
a)Violation of right to be heard
b)Reasons for decision deficient
c)Missing signatures
d)Failure to hold oral proceedings
e)Incorrect application of R. 137(5) EPC
9.5.Requests for or against remittal
9.6.No remittal to the department of first instance
9.6.1Same legal and factual framework
9.6.2Objections raised by the board
9.7.Obiter dicta
9.8.Remittal for hearing of witnesses
9.9.Remittal for adaptation of the description
9.10.Remittal to a differently composed department of first instance

10.Binding effect of decision remitting case to department of first instance

10.1.Notion of res judicata
10.2.Department of first instance bound by decision of board of appeal
10.2.1Binding effect on examining divisions
10.2.2Binding effect on opposition divisions
10.3.Binding effect in opposition proceedings after remittal to an examining division
10.4.Board of appeal bound in subsequent appeal proceedings following remittal
10.5.Binding effect: remittal for the continuation of proceedings
10.6.Binding effect: remittal only for adaptation of the description

11.Reimbursement of appeal fees

11.1.Introduction
11.2.Examination ex officio
11.3.Appeal deemed not to have been filed
11.3.1Appeal deemed not to have been filed due to late filing of the notice of appeal and/or late payment of the appeal fee
11.3.2Translation of notice of appeal
11.3.3No legal ground for payment
11.3.4Request for re-establishment in respect of the time limit for filing the notice of appeal and/or for paying the appeal fee
11.3.5No legal basis for retaining appeal fee in case of intervention in opposition appeal proceedings
11.3.6Several appellants
11.3.7No reimbursement if appeal filed in accordance with the requirements of Article 108 EPC
11.4.Reimbursement of appeal fee in case of interlocutory revision
11.4.1Requirements
11.4.2Competence to decide on reimbursement
11.4.3Examining division should have rectified decision
11.4.4A rectification decision maintaining earlier decision
11.4.5Re-opening examination after rectification
11.5.Allowability of the appeal
11.6.Substantial procedural violation
11.6.1Violation must be of a procedural nature
11.6.2Violation must be substantial and affect the entire proceedings
11.6.3Procedural violation must be committed by the department whose decision is under appeal
11.6.4Search
11.6.5Guidelines
11.6.6Request for interview
11.6.7Oral proceedings
a)Failure to summon for oral proceedings
b)Submissions of parties as response to summons
c)No reasons for refusal of request for postponement
d)No reasons for refusal of request to change location for oral proceedings
e)Repeated postponements of oral proceedings
f)Minutes
11.6.8Right to be heard
11.6.9Inadequate reasons given in the decision at first instance
11.6.10Error of judgment by a department of first instance
a)Communications
b)Wrong assessment of prior art or technical content
c)Error in the application of the law
d)Board reaches a different conclusion than the department of first instance
e)Exercising of discretion
f)Wrong procedure adopted
g)Following earlier decisions
11.6.11Cases concerning the decision-making process and the decision
a)Issuing of decision
b)Content of decision
c)Requests
d)Amendments
e)Signature on decision and minutes
f)Composition of opposition division
11.6.12Partiality
11.6.13Suspensive effect of appeal
11.6.14Non-compliance with order of the board
11.6.15Referral pending before Enlarged Board
11.6.16Refusal of application on one ground only
11.6.17Cases concerning documentation and communications passing between the EPO and the parties
a)Ambiguous communication or wrong form
b)No reply to communication under Article 101 EPC
c)Wrong type of communication
d)Period set for opponent to reply to patentee's response
e)Observations not forwarded to other party
f)Appointment of professional representative
g)Warning in relation to a grace period
11.7.Reimbursement must be equitable
11.7.1Causal link between substantial procedural violation and filing of appeal
11.7.2Conduct of appellant
a)Reimbursement held not to be equitable
b)Reimbursement held to be equitable
11.8.Reimbursement in full under Rule 103(1)(b) EPC
11.9.Revised Rule 103 EPC on partial reimbursement of the appeal fee
11.10.Partial reimbursement (75%) under Rule 103(2) EPC
11.11.Partial reimbursement (50%)
11.11.1Partial reimbursement under former Rule 103(2) EPC
11.11.2Partial reimbursement (50%) under Rule 103(3) EPC
11.12.Partial reimbursement (25%) under Rule 103(4) EPC
11.13.Communication in preparation for the oral proceedings
11.14.Reimbursement of the appeal fee outside of the scope of Rule 103 EPC because of a violation of the principle of the protection of legitimate expectations
New decisions
T 682/22

Catchword:

Different interpretation of Article 109(1) EPC from that provided for in the Guidelines for Examination in the EPO - application of Article 20(2) RPBA 2020 (see point 2.4.3 of the Reasons).

T 1678/21

Catchword:

1. From the company name of an appellant alone it can generally not be derived that the appellant does not meet the conditions of Rule 6(4,5) EPC in conjunction with European Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 for payment of the reduced appeal fee. This applies even where a company name is well-known. 2. Where it is not clear from the file at the end of the appeal period whether or not an appellant at the point in time of payment of the reduced fee meets the conditions of Rule 6(4,5) EPC, no clear intention to pay the regular appeal fee can be detected that under the principles of T 152/82 would entitle the EPO to ex officio debit the amount of the regular fee. 3. An appellant who gives a debit order for payment of the reduced appeal fee even though it clearly does not meet the conditions of Rule 6(4,5) EPC commits an obvious mistake in the meaning of J 8/80 and G 1/12. Such an appellant is imputed to have had the clear intention to pay the regular fee, reason why no evidence to prove this intention is required. 4. The exhaustive criteria to assess Rule 139 EPC are "principles" (a) to (c) of G 1/12, i.e. essentially those of J 8/80, points 4 and 6: (a) The correction must introduce what was originally intended. (b) Where the original intention is not immediately apparent, the requester bears the burden of proof, which must be a heavy one. The same applies, pursuant to J 8/80, point 6, where the making of the mistake is not self-evident. (c) The error to be remedied may be an incorrect statement or an omission. complemented by criterion (d) balancing of the public interest in legal certainty with the interest of the party requesting correction, with the factors (i.e. sub-criteria of this criterion) relevant to the specific case.

T 424/21

Catchword: 

1. If the deletion of dependent claims after notification of a summons to oral proceedings enhances procedural economy by clearly overcoming existing objections without giving rise to any new issues this might constitute cogent reasons justifying exceptional circumstances in the sense of Article 13(2) RPBA 2020. 

2. For a first medical use of a substance or composition according to Article 54(4) EPC to be sufficiently disclosed it is not required to show the suitability for each and every disease, but it usually suffices to show that at least one medical use is credibly achieved.

T 71/21

Catchword:

Berichtigung der Erklärung betreffend die Methode für die Entrichtung der Beschwerdegebühr im Formblatt 1038 - Ermittelung der ursprünglichen Absicht bei der Auswahl der Zahlungsmethode, siehe Entscheidungsgründe 6.4

T 1617/20

Catchword:

Prima facie allowability under Article 123(2) EPC of a late filed amended claim request may be a valid criterion to be used by the opposition division when deciding on the admittance of this claim request. However, using this criterion, to object for the first time at oral proceedings to a feature of the late-filed claim request that was already present in higher ranking claim requests and had never been objected to before, not even when deciding on the allowability or admittance of those higher-ranking claim requests, goes against the principles of fairness and good faith (see point 2.6.11 of the reasons).

T 955/20

Catchword:

1. A request for reimbursement of the appeal fee under Rule 103(1)(a) EPC can no longer be filed after the department of first instance has granted interlocutory revision (Reasons 2). 

2. If the department of first instance grants interlocutory revision only to refine the written reasons which already complied with Rule 111(2) EPC, this may constitute a substantial procedural violation (Reasons 1).

T 920/20

Catchword:

Artikel 12(4) VOBK 2020 enthält keine Einschränkung dahin, dass sich jede Partei in der Beschwerde nur auf diejenigen Gegenstände des Vorverfahrens beziehen dürfte, die sie selbst dort "in zulässiger Weise vorgebracht" hat. Daher erscheint es legitim, sich auch auf Angriffslinien zu beziehen, die von anderen Beteiligten ins Einspruchsverfahren eingeführt worden waren. Geschieht dies, liegt insoweit daher keine zulassungsbedürftige Änderung des Vorbringens vor (siehe Punkt 4.4).

T 714/20

Catchword:

The principles expressed in Article 12(6) RPBA 2020 for the admittance of non-maintained or non-admitted requests may be considered in the exercise of discretion to admit amendments based on such requests under Article 12(4) RPBA 2020.

T 2843/19

Orientierungssatz:

Zur Notwendigkeit einer rechtzeitigen Replik:

1. Unter der seit 1. Januar 2020 geltenden Verfahrensordnung der Beschwerdekammern (VOBK 2020) obliegt es den Parteien, ihren Vortrag so rechtzeitig im Verfahren zu bringen, dass die Beschwerdekammer ihn bereits bei Abfassung des Ladungsbescheids berücksichtigen kann.

2. Soweit die Beschwerdeführerin einen Teil ihres Vortrags nicht, wie es Artikel 12 Abs. 3 VOBK 2020 eigentlich fordert, bereits in der Beschwerdebegründung unterbreiten kann, weil es sich um die Antwort auf Angriffe bzw. Hilfsanträge handelt,die nicht bereits Gegenstand der angegriffenen Entscheidung waren, sondern von der Beschwerdegegnerin in der Beschwerdeerwiderung unterbreitet wurden, stellt eine Replik hierauf für die Beschwerdeführerin das geeignete Mittel der Wahl dar, um ihre Antwort rechtzeitig vorzubringen. Gerade aus diesem Grund sieht Artikel 15 (1) VOBK 2020 vor, dass die Kammer sich bemüht, nicht früher als zwei Monate nach Erhalt der Beschwerdeerwiderung (gemäß Artikel 12 (1) c) VOBK 2020) die Ladung zu versenden.

3. Das Argument, es sei nicht zumutbar, Kaskaden von Argumentationslinien im Hinblick auf jede denkbare Einschätzung der Kammer vortragen zu müssen, greift nicht. Im zweiseitigen Beschwerdeverfahren trifft die Parteien die Pflicht zur sorgfältigen und beförderlichen Verfahrensführung, aus Gründen der Fairness gegenüber der anderen Partei, aber auch um das Verfahren innerhalb einer angemessenen Verfahrensdauer zum Abschluss zu bringen. Artikel 13 (2) VOBK 2020 sanktioniert diese Pflicht zur Verfahrensförderung.

4. Das Argument der Beschwerdeführerin, es sei der Kammer und auch der Patentinhaberin zumutbar, sich in der mündlichen Verhandlung mit der Diskussion eines einfachen neuen Sachverhaltes zu beschäftigen, lässt den Einfluss auf den weiteren Verfahrensverlauf außer Acht. Die erstmalige Diskussion einer Argumentationslinie in der mündlichen Verhandlung mag zu einer Situation führen, in der die andere Partei ihre Verteidigungslinie erstmalig in der mündlichen Verhandlung überdenken und ggf. anpassen muss, was zu einer deutlichen Verzögerung des Verfahrens führen und eine sachgerechte ntscheidung in der mündlichen Verhandlung erschweren oder unmöglich machen kann.

T 2599/19

Catchword: 

Since the initial main request, filed for the first time with the statement of grounds of appeal, would not have been admitted under Article 12(4) RPBA 2007, the objections raised by the board in the communication annexed to the summons to oral proceedings against this initial main request are of a hypothetical nature and do not establish exceptional circumstances referred to in Article 13(2) RPBA 2020 which could justify amending the applicant's appeal case.

T 2295/19

Catchword:

Änderung eines Anspruchssatzes durch Streichung von Ansprüchen. Zur Frage seiner Zulassung unter Artikel 13 (2) RPBA 2020 siehe Entscheidungsgründe Nr. 3.4.1 bis 3.4.14            

T 2201/19

Catchword:

Ein nach der Ladung zur mündlichen Verhandlung eingereichter neuer Hilfsantrag, der nur noch einen bereits im von der Einspruchsabteilung aufrechterhaltenen Hauptantrag enthaltenen unabhängigen Verfahrensanspruch enthält, während alle anderen vorrangigen (Produkt-)Ansprüche gestrichen wurden, kann dann nicht als grundsätzlich unberücksichtigt bleibende Änderung des Beschwerdevorbringens im Sinne des Artikels 13(2) VOBK 2020 angesehen werden, wenn das bisherige Vorbringen der Beteiligten bereits eine hinreichende Grundlage zur Entscheidung über den neuen Hilfsantrag bietet (abweichend von T 2091/18, vgl. Punkt 5 der Gründe).

T 1474/19

Catchword:

I. A debit order has to be interpreted on its substance, according to the (objectively) clear intention of the appellant expressed therein to pay a fee in the applicable amount.

II. Under the Arrangements for deposit accounts valid as from 1 December 2017 (ADA 2017), a debit order having the clear purpose of paying a particular fee (here: the appeal fee) authorises the EPO to debit that fee in the applicable amount.

T 727/19

Catchword:

1. The Guidelines, Part E, Chapter XI, set out the procedure whereby the reasons of a responsible superior's decision rejecting a challenge to the impartiality of a division can be appealed. This procedure does not make the responsible superior's decision formally appealable (Reasons 2.3 and 2.4).

2. The unexplained omission of the reasons of the responsible superior's decision from the final decision of the division justifies the suspicion of partiality and constitutes a substantial procedural violation (Reasons 2.9 and 2.15).

3. The principle of the prohibition of "reformatio in peius" is not applicable where a case is to be remitted to a division in a new composition because of a suspicion of partiality (Reasons 5.5 and 5.6).

T 355/19

Catchword:

Modification des moyens selon l'article 13(2) RPCR ; recevabilité de requêtes dans lesquelles certaines revendications indépendantes sont supprimées ; échelonnement des requêtes subsidiaires déposées tout au long de la procédure de recours qui donne lieu à une approche "par tâtonnements" ou une tactique par élimination (tactique du "salami") (voir points 2 et 3 des motifs).

T 339/19

Catchword:

"Exceptional circumstances" in Rule 13(2) RPBA interpreted as those that compromise neither the procedural rights of the other party, nor procedural economy.

T 84/19

Catchword:

Eligibility requirements for paying a reduced appeal fee by an appellant - opponent in case of opposition filed as a straw man (Reasons 1 to 9.2).

T 2920/18

Catchword:

Amendment of a set of claims by deletion of claims. Admittance of said amended set of claims pursuant to Article 13(2) RPBA 2020: see points 3.1 to 3.16 of the Reasons for the Decision.

T 2866/18

Catchword: 

Whether the documents which are taken as starting points for newly raised inventive step objections were previously used for objections regarding a lack of novelty has no bearing for determining whether these inventive step objections constitute an amendment to the opponent's appeal case under Article 13(2) RPBA 2020 (Reasons 4.7).

T 2632/18

Catchword:

That a "new" objection was raised by a board in appeal proceedings cannot per se amount to "exceptional circumstances" within the meaning of Article 13(2) RPBA 2020 (see point 4.3 of the Reasons).

T 2120/18

Catchword:

1. An opposition division's rejection of a request for extension of the time limit indicated in its communication under Rule 79(1) EPC does not terminate the opposition proceedings. Therefore, a patent proprietor is in a position to respond to the notice of opposition beyond the expired time limit or, at least, request the rejection of the opposition as well as oral proceedings. The patent proprietor must anticipate that an opposition division may issue its decision after expiration of the time limit (see Reasons 4.5, 4.6 and 4.9).

2. There is no legal basis for a duty on the part of the opposition division to notify the patent proprietor in advance of its intention to reach a decision, even if that decision concerns the revocation of the patent (see Reasons 4.8, 4.10 and 4.11).

3. If a patent proprietor chooses not to file any submissions during the opposition proceedings but to present them only with its statement of grounds of appeal, this amounts to bringing an entirely fresh case in appeal proceedings. This is at odds with the primary object of the appeal proceedings to review the decision under appeal in a judicial manner. Consequently, a board has the discretion under Article 12(4) RPBA 2007 not to admit the patent proprietor's defence submissions into the appeal proceedings. This does, however, not necessarily lead to revocation of the patent. The decision under appeal is still to be reviewed by the board, which might overturn the impugned decision, for example if it is not convinced by the reasons given by the opposition division or in the event of a substantial procedural violation (see Reasons 5.5 and 5.6).

T 2117/18

Catchword: 

In order to substantiate an objection in the appeal proceedings which the Opposition Division did not consider convincing, it is necessary to provide specific reasons why the finding and the reasoning in the decision under appeal is supposedly incorrect with regard to this objection (Reasons 2.2.2-2.2.11). As a rule, in appeal proceedings general references to submissions made in the proceedings before the departments of first instance are not taken into account due to a lack of substantiation. Attaching the notice of opposition to the statement of grounds of appeal is to be considered equivalent to such a general reference to previous submissions (Reasons 2.2.13-2.2.14). An objection is to be considered to have been validly submitted only at the time on which sufficient substantiation is provided (Reasons 2.2.17).

T 2073/18

Catchword:

Special reasons present in the sense of Article 11 (1) RPBA 2020 (see point 6 of the reasons for the decision).

T 2361/18

Catchword:

If a request for oral proceedings is withdrawn after a date for oral proceedings has been set but before the notification of a communication issued in preparation for the oral proceedings, the withdrawal occurs "within one month of notification" for the purpose of Rule 103(4)(c) EPC.

T 2125/18

Catchword:

Notification of the statement of grounds of appeal is not a Rule 100(2) EPC communication (Reasons 1.4) 
Article 13(2) RPBA – “in principle” (Reasons 2.1)

T 2080/18

Catchword:

siehe Punkt 5.1.

T 1869/18

Catchword:

While objections raised by the Board for the first time in a communication under Article 15(1) RPBA 2020 may be considered to give rise to exceptional circumstances within the meaning of Article 13(2) RPBA 2020, and may possibly justify the filing of amendments which specifically respond to the new objections, this does not open the door to additional amendments which are unrelated to the new objections, and for which no exceptional circumstances exist (Reasons, point 3.10).

T 1842/18

 Catchword: Entscheidungsgründe 4

T 1042/18

Catchword:

1.) Im Beschwerdeverfahren bestehen Beschränkungen neuen Vorbringens sowohl durch die Rechtsprechung der Großen Beschwerdekammer in G 10/91, G 1/95 und G 7/95 zur Berücksichtigung neuer Einspruchsgründe, als auch durch die den Kammern in Artikel 114 (2) EPÜ und der Verfahrensordnung der Beschwerdekammern eingeräumte Möglichkeit, verspätetes Vorbringen nicht zuzulassen. Diese Beschränkungen bestehen unabhängig voneinander und wirken kumulativ (Nr. 4.5 der Gründe). 

2.) Vorbringen, das nicht auf die in der Beschwerdebegründung oder Erwiderung enthaltenen Anträge, Tatsachen, Einwände, Argumente und Beweismittel gerichtet ist, bewirkt eine Änderung des Beschwerdevorbringens im Sinne des Artikel 13 (2) VOBK (J 14/19, Nr. 1.4 der Gründe). In diesem Zusammenhang stellt sowohl eine neue Kombination von Tatsachenelementen (z.B. die Wahl einer anderen Entgegenhaltung oder einer anderen Textstelle einer Entgegenhaltung als Ausgangspunkt für einen Einwand erfinderischer Tätigkeit) als auch eine neue Kombination von Tatsachen- und Rechtselementen (z.B. die Bezugnahme auf ein Dokument oder eine Textstelle in einem anderen rechtlichen Zusammenhang) eine Änderung des Beschwerdevorbringens dar. Ein in der mündlichen Verhandlung vor der Beschwerdekammer erstmals vorgetragener Einwand mangelnder erfinderischer Tätigkeit ausgehend von einer Entgegenhaltung, die zuvor lediglich Gegenstand eines Neuheitseinwandes war, stellt somit regelmäßig eine Änderung des Beschwerdevorbringens gemäß Artikel 13 (2) VOBK 2020 dar. (Nr. 4.9 der Gründe).

T 750/18

Catchword:

The requirement under Article 12(2) RPBA 2007 to present a complete case does not imply that an appellant/opponent, impugning a decision to maintain a patent in granted or amended form, has to raise objections against all dependent claims (point 4.2 of the reasons).

T 494/18

Catchword:

A request in which some claims have been deleted compared to the requests that were filed previously with the grounds of appeal or the reply is, according to the systematic context of Article 12(3) RPBA 2020 and Article 13 RPBA 2020, a new request and thus usually amounts to an "amendment to the party's appeal case".

T 77/18

Catchword:

The respondent's requests regarding the ground for opposition under Article 100 c) EPC confront the Board with the issue of admittance of a new ground for opposition which was raised during the oral proceedings before the opposition division but had deliberately not been decided upon by the opposition division. In the absence of a positive decision on admittance by the opposition division, the Board considers that the ground for opposition under Article 100 c) EPC should be treated as a fresh ground at the appeal stage and its admittance should be governed by the principles set forth in G 10/91, which require the proprietor's consent for its introduction in the appeal proceedings. In view of the appellant's refusal thereto, the ground for opposition under Article 100 c) is not to be introduced in the appeal proceedings.

T 2360/17

Catchword:

As to the divergence in the jurisprudence of the Boards of Appeal concerning the notion of an "amendment" within the meaning of Article 12(4) RPBA 2020, see point 2.4 of the Reasons.

T 1190/17

Catchword:

Le fait que la chambre ait retenu un argument nouveau (absence d'effet technique clairement identifiable) dans la chaîne argumentaire conduisant au constat provisoire d'absence d'activité inventive ne saurait être ignoré. Il justifie que les requêtes qui visent et se limitent à remédier à cette objection soient admises.

T 988/17

Catchword:

Weder Artikel 13(2) VOBK 2020 noch die erläuternden Bemerkungen dazu in CA/3/19 enthalten eine Erklärung, wie allgemein zu bestimmen ist, ob die Umstände "außergewöhnlich" sind. Die Erläuterungen der VOBK 2020 nennen als Beispiel für solche "außergewöhnlichen" Umstände allerdings den Fall, dass die Kammer einen Einwand erstmals in einer Mitteilung erhoben hat. In diesem Fall rechtfertige die veränderte Grundlage des Beschwerdeverfahrens ein verändertes Vorbringen. Die Frage, ob umgekehrt durch geändertes Vorbringen auch die Grundlage des Beschwerdeverfahrens verändert wird, stellt somit ein mögliches Kriterium dar, das für die Beurteilung der Außergewöhnlichkeit der Umstände heranzuziehen ist (Punkt 6.3 der Entscheidungsgründe).

T 882/17

Catchword: 

If the opponent is the sole appellant against an interlocutory decision maintaining a patent in amended form, an objection related to the inadmissibility of the opposition is subject to the principle of the prohibition of reformatio in peius. In such a procedural situation, the Board is prohibited from ordering the maintenance of the patent as granted due to the inadmissibility of the opposition (Reasons 3.19).

T 803/17

Catchword: 

The yardstick for determining whether the position of an appellant is, because of its own appeal, worsened in a way which is incompatible with the principle of the prohibition of reformatio in peius is the order of the decision under appeal, in particular the order's legal effect on the appellant.  If an opposition is considered inadmissible in the appeal proceedings, an appellant whose opposition was rejected in the decision under appeal as unallowable would not be in a worse position than if it had not appealed, as in both cases the patent would be maintained as granted. The legal reasons leading to this result, including whether the opposition is rejected as inadmissible or unallowable, do not fall within the scope of the principle of the prohibition of reformatio in peius (Reasons 3.5).

T 574/17

Catchword: 

If there is an amendment to the patent in the appeal proceedings which has never been examined before, the Enlarged Board's obiter dictum in G 10/91, Reasons 19, is fully respected when only the prima facie relevance of an objection under Article 123(2) EPC is considered in the context of assessing whether there are exceptional circumstances under Article 13(2) RPBA 2020 (Reasons 2.3.1-2.3.14).

T 2179/16

Catchword: 

Admittance of objections raised in appeal, said objections having been raised before the opposition division against a different claim request (point 4.3 of the Reasons

T 755/16

Catchword:

A request not to admit a certain document, this request having been filed for the first time during oral proceedings before the board, may constitute an amendment of the appeal case the admittance of which is governed by Article 13(2) RPBA 2020 (point 3 of the reasons).

T 960/15

Catchword:
The Boards of Appeal may review discretionary decisions. There are, however, limits on the extent of review that reflect the discretion accorded to the deciding body. In the present case, the Opposition Division decided to consider document D8 and the review of this decision is a primary object of the appeal proceedings (Article 12(2) RPBA 2020) - see Reasons 1 - 9.

Case Law Suppl.
Annual report: case law 2022
Summaries of decisions in the language of the proceedings
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