e) Observations not forwarded to other party 

In T 789/95 the file contained no indication that a copy of the opponent's observations had been forwarded to the patent proprietor. It was therefore to be assumed that the communication of the observations to the patent proprietor had been omitted, in contravention of the Guidelines. In the board's view, this constituted a substantial procedural violation, as it infringed the principle that all parties to proceedings must be accorded the same procedural rights.