T 1972/13 - Null and void decision and A116

Key points:

• Article 116
  In this examination appeal, the Examining Division issued summons for oral proceedings of own motion, not on request of the applicant. The applicant considered the summons for oral proceedings to be premature. The applicant sent a letter to the Examining Division requesting that "cancellation of the oral proceedings and the continuation of the examination in writing, possibly supplemented by a telephone interview with the primary examiner, if the Examination Division deems it expedient". Auxiliary it was requested "that the oral proceedings are conducted by video-conference, using IP technology; and that the date of the oral proceedings is changed" (the letter was signed by an EPA). Oral proceedings were cancelled, and as next action the application was refused by the Examining Division.
• The Board finds this to be a substantial  procedural violation. " The board further considers that having read the applicant's letter, the examining division at the very least should have been in doubt as to the status of the applicant's requests regarding the continuation in writing and the oral proceedings and should have requested clarification from the applicant in order to avoid committing a substantial procedural violation []. The board notes finally that, in view of the new situation brought about by the [letter], it is not relevant that oral proceedings were initially arranged ex officio and not in response to a request by the applicant." 
• " The board concludes that the examining division infringed the applicant's right to oral proceedings, thereby infringing the applicant's right to be heard enshrined in Article 113(1) EPC."  As a comment, the right to oral proceedings is laid down in Article 116 EPC, not in Article 113(1) EPC. The right to be heard and the right to oral proceedings are distinct and separate rights.
• Null and void decision
  Some time after the decision refusing the application, the Examining Division issued a second separate decision refusing the applicant's request pursuant to Rule 64(2) EPC for reimbursement of an additional search fee. The Board considers this decision to be null and void. " The board considers that the first decision refusing the application pursuant to Article 97(2) EPC terminated the proceedings before the examining division." The case is remitted for the violation of the right to oral proceedings. " The second decision on refund of the additional search fee being null and void, the board considers it appropriate that the matter be reconsidered by the examining division." As a comment, I wonder how the Board would decide the matter if the decision to refuse the application was sound and upheld. 

EPO T 1972/13 - link

Reasons for the Decision

1. The right to be heard (Article 113(1) EPC)

1.1 In the statement of grounds of appeal, the appellant submits two main arguments as to why its right to be heard has been infringed:

(i) The response "R3" contained a "detailed" reasoning and "actually new arguments" to which "no answer has been provided by the Examining Division until the refusal notification in item 27.1. Thus the applicant had no opportunity to present his comments on this new ground stated in item 27.1 in the notification under appeal".
(ii) "Moreover, in reply R1 [sic] to the first communication C2 of the Examining Division, the Applicant has filed at least one admissible request and provided a reasoned statement in support to the patentability of its subject-matter, that following the Applicant's reply, the Examining Division has adopted a different approach to assess the patentability of the invention: while in the first communication of April 5, 2011 document D1 was considered as the primary reference and the subject-matter of claim 1 was held to lack an inventive step over document D1 alone, in the Preliminary Opinion accompanying the Summon [sic] to attend oral proceedings C3, D2 is considered as the closest prior art, and D1 is used as a secondary reference. Thus the applicant demonstrated his good will concerning the progress of the written proceedings.
Thus, the continuation of the examination in writing would have consisted in the present case in giving the possibility for the applicant to respond to a notification pursuant 94(3) EPC or to oral proceedings [board's underlining]".

1.2 It is not necessary to consider argument (i), because the board agrees with the appellant that the examining division should either have issued a communication or have held oral proceedings (argument (ii)), for the reasons set out below.

1.3 In the applicant's response R3, it substantiated its request for cancellation of the oral proceedings and continuation in writing as follows:

"I. Oral proceedings would be untimely and unnecessary
It is not contended that the Examining Division can arrange for oral proceedings ex officio whenever it consider [sic] it expedient, even against the will of the Applicant.
However, the Examining Division should also bear in mind the need for economy, since oral proceedings (even in the form of video-conference) give rise to very significant costs for both the EPO and the Applicant.
Oral proceedings are expedient when the written proceedings are in a dead end, and no progress is made toward grant or rejection [board's underlining].
This is not the case here [board's underlining]. In reply to the first communication of the Examining Division, the Applicant has filed at least one admissible request and provided a reasoned statement in support to the patentability of its subject-matter.
It is worth noting that, following the Applicant's reply, the Examining Division has adopted a different approach to assess the patentability of the invention: while in the first communication of April 5, 2011 document D1 was considered as the primary reference and the subject-matter of claim 1 was held to lack an inventive step over document D1 alone, in the Preliminary Opinion accompanying the Summon [sic] to attend oral proceedings D2 is considered as the closest prior art, and D1 is used as a secondary reference.
This provides evidence that the examination is not stuck and can continue in writing, at a lesser cost for both the EPO and the Applicant [board's underlining].
Subsidiarily, the Applicant requires [sic] that the oral proceedings are conducted by video-conference, using IP technology, in order to save time and costs [board's underlining].
Moreover, a change to the date of the oral proceedings is required [sic] [board's underlining]."

1.4 It follows from the above submission, especially those passages underlined by the board, that the applicant's main request for continuing in writing with a subsidiary request concerning oral proceedings, although imprecisely worded, did not embrace the issuing of an immediate decision without holding oral proceedings. This is clear from the reasons given as to why continuing in writing was regarded as preferable to the holding of oral proceedings. In particular, oral proceedings would be "untimely", i.e. premature, inter alia because the examination procedure was not "stuck", i.e. still in a state of flux. Further, it lacks any semblance of logic to request as a first preference the issuing of a direct written decision, as the examining division apparently interpreted the appellant's main request, and, as a second preference, the holding of oral proceedings (in this case, by video conference on a different date). In the board's view, the only logical interpretation of the applicant's submission R3 is that it did not consider the examination procedure as being at an end but wished it to continue, preferably in writing by issuing a communication or, if not, by holding oral proceedings (in this case by video conference on a different date). The board further considers that having read the applicant's letter, the examining division at the very least should have been in doubt as to the status of the applicant's requests regarding the continuation in writing and the oral proceedings and should have requested clarification from the applicant in order to avoid committing a substantial procedural violation (cf. T 2373/11, points 2.5 to 2.8 of the reasons). The board notes finally that, in view of the new situation brought about by the letter R3, it is not relevant that oral proceedings were initially arranged ex officio and not in response to a request by the applicant.

1.5 The board concludes that the examining division infringed the applicant's right to oral proceedings, thereby infringing the applicant's right to be heard enshrined in Article 113(1) EPC. The violation of the right to be heard constitutes a substantial procedural violation justifying the reimbursement of the appeal fee (Rule 103(1)(a) EPC).

2. The second decision issued by the examining division refusing a request for refunding an additional search fee - decision null and void

2.1 The applicant's request for refunding an additional search fee was refused in a second decision issued by the examining division (see point III above). Before the second decision was issued, an appeal had been filed against the first decision.

2.2 The board considers that the first decision refusing the application pursuant to Article 97(2) EPC terminated the proceedings before the examining division. After notification of the decision, the examining division had no power to go beyond a correction of errors in the decision pursuant to

Rule 140 EPC (cf. T 830/03, point 1.2 of the reasons), or, considering that an appeal had been filed, granting interlocutory revision pursuant to Article 109 EPC. It follows that the second decision taken by the examining division after the notification of the first decision, and a fortiori after the filing of the appeal, was ultra vires and thus without any legal effect. The second decision is therefore null and void. The board notes that the correct procedure would have been either to have dealt with the request for refund of the additional search fee in the decision refusing the application, or to have decided on the matter earlier by issuing an interlocutory decision not terminating proceedings (cf. Article 106(2) EPC).

2.3 The board notes here that it is in principle not relevant whether or not a separate appeal against the second decision was filed, given that an appeal against a legally void decision could logically have no legal effect (cf. T 1257/08, point 1 of the reasons). Further, given that the case is to be remitted (see below), the board considers that if the second decision were not now expressly held to be null and void, it would leave an unclear legal situation before the first instance. In addition, with respect to the right to be heard on this issue at oral proceedings, the same considerations apply, mutatis mutandis, as set out in points 1.1 to 1.5 above with respect to the first decision (cf. Article 113(1) EPC).

2.4 The second decision on refund of the additional search fee being null and void, the board considers it appropriate that the matter be reconsidered by the examining division.

3. Remittal (Article 111(1) EPC and Article 11 RPBA)

In accordance with Article 11 RPBA, the board shall remit a case if fundamental deficiencies are apparent in the first instance proceedings, unless special reasons present themselves for doing otherwise. The boards' consistent practice is to remit the case where the examining division failed to hold oral proceedings requested by the applicant, since it cannot be known if the examining division would have come to a different decision if oral proceedings had been held. The same situation applies where it is not clear whether a request for oral proceedings has been made. The board sees no special reason to diverge from the existing practice, especially in the light of the further procedural irregularities mentioned above with respect to the second decision (cf. point 2).

4. Conclusion

For the above reasons, the decision under appeal is to be set aside and the case is to be remitted to the examining division for further prosecution (Article 111(1) EPC). Further, the second decision refusing the request for refunding an additional search fee is to be held null and void.

Order

For these reasons it is decided that:

The decision under appeal is set aside.

The second decision issued on 10 June 2013 is null and void.

The case is remitted to the examining division for further prosecution.

The appeal fee is reimbursed.