The request for re‑establishment of rights will not be deemed admissible if not sufficiently substantiated. A sufficiently substantiated request will state the grounds on which it is based and set out the facts on which it relies. Certain specific elements are therefore expected to be included in the statement of grounds, namely (non‑exhaustively): the precise cause of non‑compliance, when and under which circumstances the cause occurred and was removed and the core facts making it possible to assess whether all due care required by the circumstances were taken.
A request relying only on general statements and containing no specific facts does not satisfy the requirement for a duly substantiated request (Rule 136(2) EPC and decision J 15/10 of the Legal Board of Appeal). A duly substantiated statement of grounds must be submitted within the time limit for filing the request for re‑establishment of rights.
Refer to the EPC Guidelines for further information on substantiation in the context of re‑establishment of rights at the EPO (see EPC Guidelines, E‑VIII, 3.1.4).