Wednesday, April 04, 2018 T 1423/13 - OP at the instance of the EPO

A (belated) Easter picture, with no relation to this case...

In this examination appeal, the Examining Division (ED) warned the Applicant now Appellant that "in case no allowable set of claims is presented, the next office action will be the summons to oral proceedings in the Hague". However, the Applicant did not previously request oral proceedings, and the application was subsequently refused without holding oral proceedings as "the applicant did not request the oral proceedings at any point of the written procedure" and it is therefore "concluded that the applicant's right to be heard has been entirely respected (Art. 113(1) EPC)".

In appeal, the Board however concludes that the applicant had a legitimate expectation that oral proceedings were to be scheduled, and that the course of action of the ED amounted to a substantial procedural violation. As a reminder, Art. 116(1) expressly allows oral proceedings to be arranged "at the instance of the EPO" and thereby "without a request from a party", see GL E III-4.