3.3. Article 112a EPC – Continuity of the petitioner's legitimate interest

In R 12/20 the Enlarged Board noted that the petitioner's ongoing legitimate interest had to continue to exist and the admissibility requirements had to continue to be met throughout the entire review proceedings, and that the EPO had to consider these criteria of its own motion. During the review proceedings in hand, the opposition proceedings had been continued. The opposition of the petitioner (opponent) had been rejected and the opposed patent maintained as granted without the petitioner filing as much as a precautionary appeal against that decision. The Enlarged Board concluded that the petitioner could no longer argue that they still had a legitimate interest and that the admissibility requirements for the originally filed petition for review were therefore no longer met. The petition for review was therefore rejected as clearly inadmissible.