l) Appellant's silence in response to unsubstantiated submissions by the respondent 

In T 1903/17 the respondent (opponent 3) referred in its reply to the appeal to submissions in its notice of opposition, but these merely stated that submissions made with respect to another claim should apply "by analogy". The board considered the objection to be incomplete, as it left it to the other parties and the opposition division or board themselves to determine which of these submissions were intended to apply by analogy to the contested claims and to what extent. The board emphasised that the reference in the reply to the appeal to these unsubstantiated submissions did not give the appellant (patent proprietor) any reason to address them in substance. The board therefore rejected the respondent's argument that there were exceptional circumstances and that new arguments had to be taken into account to substantiate the objection.