5.3.4 Duty to hold oral proceedings not affected despite withdrawal of request for oral proceedings

In T 2024/21 the board concluded that the examining division's continual refusal to appoint oral proceedings and indeed its explanation for not doing so, had made it evident that the appellant had been left with no realistic possibility to have its request for oral proceedings met. Thus, maintenance of the request for oral proceedings had clearly been rendered futile. According to the board, withdrawal of the request for oral proceedings under these particular circumstances had not absolved the examining division from its duty to hold the originally requested oral proceedings (see also chapter III.B.2.3.2 "First-instance proceedings", chapter III.B.2.7. "The right to be heard in oral proceedings" and in this chapter III.C.3.1.).