T 0047/12 - Respondent's submissions

Key points

• In this opposition case, the respondent (opponent) referred in his response to the submissions made earlier before the opposition. The Board appears not pleased,  but of course can not hold the respondent's case inadmissible.
• " It cannot be left to the board or to the other parties to the proceedings to look for arguments, facts and evidence filed before the department of first instance and to speculate and assess which ones are maintained and of relevance for the requests put forward in appeal proceedings. [...] Since the respondent has only generally referred to a lack of novelty and inventive step without substantiating why it considered this to be the case, the board takes the respondent's arguments into account only insofar as it can deduce them from the decision under appeal." 

EPO T 0047/12 -  link

Reasons for the Decision

Respondent's submissions

1. In its reply to the appellant's statement of grounds of appeal, the respondent referred only to the submissions made at first instance (cf. point XII, above).

2. When examining the admissibility of an appeal, a statement of grounds of appeal referring generally to submissions made at first instance, as a rule, cannot be considered sufficient (cf. "Case Law of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO", 8th edition 2016, IV.E.2.6.4.a), page 1102). In the board's view, this applies equally to the submissions of other parties to the proceedings even if the decision underlying the appeal was in their favour. It cannot be left to the board or to the other parties to the proceedings to look for arguments, facts and evidence filed before the department of first instance and to speculate and assess which ones are maintained and of relevance for the requests put forward in appeal proceedings.

3. The new main request differs from both, the main and the auxiliary request underlying the decision under appeal. Since the respondent has only generally referred to a lack of novelty and inventive step without substantiating why it considered this to be the case, the board takes the respondent's arguments into account only insofar as it can deduce them from the decision under appeal.