2.1 Request for oral proceedings by an opponent whose opposition is to be rejected as inadmissible or is deemed not to have been filed 

Under Art. 116(1), oral proceedings may be requested only by a party to pending proceedings. If the opposition division notes deficiencies in the notice of opposition under Rule 77(1), any opponent still remains a party to the proceedings until such time as their opposition is rejected as inadmissible. This also applies when deficiencies lead to the opposition being deemed not to have been filed (see D‑IV, 1.4.1).

2.2Request for oral proceedings in examination to be held on EPO premises

A request that oral proceedings before the examining division be held by way of exception on the premises of the EPO (see E‑III, 1) needs to be filed as early as possible, preferably together with the request for oral proceedings. The granting of a request for oral proceedings to be held on the premises of the EPO will be at the discretion of the competent division.

If the request for oral proceedings on the premises of the EPO cannot be allowed and is received after the summons to oral proceedings, the division will inform the parties that the oral proceedings will take place by videoconference as set out in the summons and include a brief reasoning as to why the request cannot be granted. If the request is received before the summons has been issued, the reasons for the refusal will be given in the annex to the summons. In either case, a refusal of this type is not separately appealable (OJ EPO 2020, A134, Article 1(2)).

If a request for oral proceedings on the premises of the EPO is allowable and is received after the summons to oral proceedings by videoconference has been issued, the parties will be informed that oral proceedings will be held on the premises of the EPO as requested; where possible, the date of the oral proceedings will remain unchanged.