R 0008/16: Procedural Issues before the EPO
R 0008/16 Laying Head with a Vibration Damping Device reminds those practising before the European Patent Office that, if there is a fundamental procedural defect during opposition proceedings, a formal protest should be made which is recorded in the minutes of any hearing.
In R 0008/16 Laying Head with a Vibration Damping Device, the Enlarged Board of Appeal held that, absent this, an appeal was unavailable. It reasoned that a mere argument at the time regarding the procedural defect was insufficient and that the onus was on the party objecting to immediately raise the omission of the procedural defect in the subsequent minutes when they were published.
Case details at at glance
Jurisdiction: European Union
Decision Level: Boards of Appeal
Parties: Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche S.p.A. (applicant) and Siemens Industry, Inc., SMS group GmbH (opponent)
Date: 10 July 2017
Citation: R 0008/16 (petition for review of T 1659/14)
Link to full decision (EPO): http://www.epo.org/law-practice/case-law-appeals/recent/r160008eu1.html#q
