I have a hearing impairment. Can I activate automated captions in Zoom VICOs?

Yes. To support digital accessibility and inclusivity, the EPO can enable automated captions for parties to opposition proceedings on request.

Submit your request to use this feature well in advance of the oral proceedings, ideally before the final date set under Rule 116 EPC, and include your contact details for the oral proceedings. You do not need to provide medical evidence of your hearing impairment. For technical reasons, requests made shortly before or during oral proceedings will generally be denied.

Requests will be stored in the non-public part of the file.

Once enabled, you can activate automated captions to view real-time subtitles during the VICO. To ensure that captions function correctly, all speaking participants must select their speaking language in Zoom. You can then configure Zoom to display captions in that language and/or have them automatically translated into one of the EPO's official languages (English, French or German). Please note that captions can only be generated from the audio of speaking participants, not from interpretation channels.

Automated captions rely on speech recognition technology, and the EPO does not assume responsibility for their accuracy. As automated captions are provided as a courtesy service, no rights may be derived from any unavailability during oral proceedings (e.g. due to technical problems). The division may also deactivate automated captions if they interfere with the efficient conduct of the proceedings.

Automated captions may be used solely for following the oral proceedings. They must not be saved or shared with third parties.