n) Change of representative 

In T 1080/15 the board, with reference to established case law (Case Law of the Boards of Appeal, 9th ed. 2019, V.A.4.8.2), held that a change of representative could not as such qualify as an exceptional circumstance justifying the admission of a request in appeal proceedings.

In T 615/17 the board confirmed that the admissibility of an amendment could not depend on whether there had been a change of representative, which was down to the choice made by the appellant for its own – possibly even strategic – reasons. It also reiterated that it was ultimately the applicant's responsibility to determine the subject-matter of a patent (T 382/96).