- In this examination appeal, the applicant had requested a certain statement to be included in the minutes of the oral proceedings before the Board.
- The Board recalls that " It is within the discretion of the board what is considered "essential" or "relevant"; what constitutes "the essentials of the oral proceedings" or "the relevant statements made by the parties" has to be determined by reference to what the board has to decide (see T 966/99" . Moreover, "no single party can be permitted to [...] influence the content of the minutes" referring T1721/07.
- The applicant had requested the Board to put in the minutes that "The primary examiner entrusted with the examination of the present application and the pending divisional application attended the Appeal Board hearing". However, the Board did not ask the attending member of the public at issue to identify himself and did not put the statement in the minutes.
EPO T 2370/16 - link
7. Request for inclusion of a statement in the minutes
7.1 During the oral proceedings before the board, the applicant requested that a statement presented in written form at the oral proceedings on 14 June 2019 be included in the minutes. The applicant's statement reads: "The primary examiner entrusted with the examination of the present application and the pending divisional application attended the Appeal Board hearing" (see the annex to the minutes of the oral proceedings).
7.2 According to Rule 76(1) EPC 1973, minutes of oral proceedings must contain "the essentials of the oral proceedings" and "the relevant statements made by the parties". It is within the discretion of the board what is considered "essential" or "relevant"; what constitutes "the essentials of the oral proceedings" or "the relevant statements made by the parties" has to be determined by reference to what the board has to decide (see T 966/99, Reasons 7.2.2).
