4.2.2 Deuxième et troisième niveaux de l'approche convergente : modifications des moyens invoqués dans le cadre du recours, au sens de l'article 13(1) et (2) RPCR 2020
Étant donné qu'une demande retirée ne fait plus l'objet de la procédure, son admission (prise en considération), si elle est présentée à nouveau à un stade ultérieur de la procédure, est soumise aux mêmes règles procédurales qu'une demande entièrement nouvelle (T 2692/18 avec référence aux affaires T 1695/14 et T 1421/20). Dans les circonstances de l'affaire T 2692/18, l'art. 13(2) RPCR 2020 s'appliquait donc, étant donné que la requête initialement déposée en réponse à la réponse au mémoire exposant les motifs du recours avait été remplacée par d'autres requêtes après la notification en vertu de l'art. 15(1) RPCR 2020 et n'avait été réintroduite qu'au cours de la procédure orale.
Dans l'affaire T 1421/20 les requêtes auxiliaires 1 à 5 avaient été traitées dans la décision attaquée mais la chambre a relevé qu'elles avaient été remplacées (c.à.d. retirées) au début du recours et ne formaient pas ainsi partie des moyens invoqués par le requérant (demandeur) dans le cadre du recours. La chambre a ainsi considéré que leur réintroduction (après la signification de la citation à la procédure orale) représentait une modification des moyens du requérant, dont l'admission relevait de son pouvoir d'appréciation (art. 13 RPCR 2020). Voir également T 798/18.
- T 2124/21
Résumé
In T 2124/21 the appellant (applicant) had filed with the statement of grounds of appeal a main request and a first auxiliary request that superseded the sole request subject of the appealed decision. In its communication under Art. 15(1) RPBA, the board informed the appellant of its preliminary intention not to admit these requests, inter alia because no reason had been given why these amendments were filed only on appeal, and because prima facie they contained added subject-matter. In its written reply the appellant withdrew the main request and the first auxiliary request and requested, by reference, the grant of a patent based on the claims of the request subject of the appealed decision.
The board first explained that it was with the main request and first auxiliary request that the resubmitted sole request subject of the appealed decision had to be compared when establishing whether it was an "amendment" to the appeal case. Since the sole request had been abandoned by the statement of grounds of appeal it was not pending anymore when resubmitted. Therefore, it could not be the object of comparison for the purposes of Art. 13(2) RPBA. The board then pointed out that, since claim 1 of each of the main request and the first auxiliary request had an additional feature compared with claim 1 of the sole request subject of the appealed decision, the resubmitted request constituted an amendment to the appeal case within the meaning of Art. 13(2) RPBA.
Regarding the question whether there were exceptional circumstances justified by cogent reasons, the board, citing Art. 12(2) and (3) RPBA, explained that the appellant had made a choice, at the outset of appeal proceedings, not to seek a review of the appealed decision and thereby prevented the board from pursuing the primary object of the appeal proceedings (cf. Art. 12(1)(a) and (b) and (2) RPBA). In the board's view, it could not be expected to begin the judicial review of the appealed decision only at the last stage of the appeal proceedings.
Moreover, the board held that the fact that the amendment in question did not imply a substantial technical change of the claimed subject-matter, was not a circumstance that justified admittance of the sole request. Rather, the only exceptional aspect of the case was the appellant's own choice to avoid the board's review of the appealed decision until the last stage of the appeal proceedings. The objection raised in the preliminary opinion against the then freshly filed main request and first auxiliary request was not an exceptional circumstance.
Since there was no admitted request on file the appeal was dismissed.