5.2.7 Exceptional circumstances

Save in exceptional circumstances, a request made shortly before or at the oral proceedings should be refused unless each opposing party has agreed to the making of the oral submissions requested.

In T 520/07 the board did not share the respondent (patentee's view) that the appellant could not be surprised by its request, the same accompanying person having already made submissions in oral proceedings before the opposition division. In all procedural matters, appeal proceedings were completely separate from first-instance ones, so requests made in the latter had no effect for the former.