Is it possible to request oral proceedings on the premises of the EPO?
According to the decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 22 November 2022 (OJ 2022, A103) and the corresponding Notice from the European Patent Office (OJ 2022, A106), oral proceedings may be held on the premises of the European Patent Office, either at the request of a party or at the instigation of the division if there are serious reasons against holding the oral proceedings by videoconference.
Examples of serious reasons for not holding the oral proceedings by VICO include reasons relating to a participant as an individual (e.g. a proven visual impairment that prevents a representative from following the oral proceedings on screen) and reasons relating to the nature and subject-matter of the proceedings (e.g. where they involve the demonstration or inspection of an object where the haptic features are essential or where an object cannot be made available for inspection by videoconference).. Sweeping objections to the reliability of VICO technology or the non-availability of VICO equipment do not normally qualify as serious reasons in this regard.
Requests for oral proceedings to be held by way of exception on the premises of the EPO should be filed as soon as possible, preferably together with the request for oral proceedings. If medical certificates are provided, they will be excluded from file inspection in accordance with the decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 12 July 2007 concerning documents excluded from file inspection (see OJ EPO Special edition 3, 2007, J.3). The granting of a request for oral proceedings to be held on the premises of the EPO will be at the discretion of the division in question.
If a request to hold oral proceedings on the premises of the European Patent Office is refused, the parties will be informed of the reasons. Under Article 106(2) EPC such refusals are not separately appealable.
If a request for oral proceedings on the premises of the EPO is allowable and is received after the summons to oral proceedings by VICO has been issued, the parties will be informed that oral proceedings will be held on the premises of the EPO as requested. Where possible, the date of the oral proceedings will remain unchanged.