Interesting (online) educational event at the EPO yesterday and today on the case law and practice of the Boards of Appeal.
As regards procedural aspects, appellants and defendants should be aware of the way in which the Boards apply the rules relating to late-filing (Art. 12, 13 RPBA 2020). See, e.g., T 2843/19, T 1707/17, and T 1869/18. While a party to appeal proceedings has a right to react to new developments (Art. 113 EPC), the party must exercise this right as soon as possible in the proceedings. Thus, it is advisable to react in a timely manner to new developments that may be brought about by the other party’s grounds of appeal or response brief, or the Board’s communication under Art. 15(1) RPBA 2020.