j) Loss of the representative’s passport 

In T 1810/18 the appellant requested that the oral proceedings be postponed. The reason provided was that its representative's passport had been lost with the result that the representative was unable to travel overseas to attend the oral proceedings. The board stated inter alia that the difficulty in finding a new date for oral proceedings increased with the number of parties involved (here three parties). Time was a crucial factor in the present case: the patent in suit had already expired and there was a request for remittal of the case, which, if granted, would have further increased the duration of the proceedings. A significant delay in the proceedings at this stage would not have been reasonable for the parties or the public. Fixing of a new date for the oral proceedings was not justified by the overall circumstances. The request for a change of the date was rejected. In accordance with the appellant's auxiliary request and in view of both respondents' consent, the oral proceedings were conducted by videoconference.