EPO makes videoconferencing mandatory for hearings until September 2021
The European Patent Office (EPO) has revealed that it will extend a pilot project for holding opposition hearings by videoconferencing in response to the pandemic, which will become compulsory in order to clear a substantial backlog of hearings.
The President of the EPO, Antonio Campinos, launched a pilot project for holding oral proceedings before opposition divisions in April 2020 that will now be extended until September 15, 2021.
According to a report released by the office on Wednesday, November 11, “ Opposition oral proceedings by videoconference in the context of COVID-19”, the uptake rate of video conferencing has remained low since April because the consent requirement has “acted as too strong a limitation” on the pilot.
After six months, just 230 cases have been concluded under the pilot, representing a mere 4% of opposition cases. This is because in most cases at least one party did not agree to holding the proceedings by videoconferencing, said the report.
To address the problem, the EPO has announced that the consent of all parties for holding an opposition by videoconferencing will no longer be necessary with effect from 4 January 2021, for the duration of the pilot project.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the EPO confirmed that the “backlog of unresolved opposition cases has built up with a resulting loss in timeliness which is critical for access to justice”.
The EPO’s statement said: “Today's report shows the considerable progress made so far in terms of the necessary legal framework, technical infrastructure and training support since the pilot project to conduct opposition hearings by [videoconferencing] started.”
It added that in recent weeks the addition of Zoom as a technical platform has facilitated multi-party opposition hearings and interpretation, and this development had been broadly welcomed by the patent profession.
The EPO said that parties affected by the new measures would be informed and will be invited to check the relevant files online on a regular basis and that a proposal concerning the taking of evidence by videoconferencing has been submitted to the Committee on Patent Law for a review.
The EPO said it was increasing the use of videoconferencing in order to reduce the backlog of unresolved opposition hearings and to mitigate the spread of coronavirus to ensure the safety of staff.
Richard Mair, president of The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, welcomed the news. “The experience of our members has largely been that EPO proceedings of all kinds are very well-suited to videoconference,” he said.
“Not only that, we have also found that it can dramatically improve accessibility and deliver better results, more speedily, and at a lower cost for everyone. In-conference functions such as screen sharing and simultaneous side channels for communications have shown that the technology has come of age and in most respects now provides a real and improved alternative to in-person hearings,” he added.
The EPO has also published an updated notice on “summarising the remedies available regarding procedural periods”.
The launch of the project in April met with criticism from some IP practitioners, including the Italian law firm Bugnion which sent an open letter to Campinos, arguing the decision to hold opposition hearings by video conferencing “appears to overlook a series of practical and legal aspects which could ultimately impair the applicants’ right to be heard…”
The firm added: “We think that, logically, if oral proceedings by videoconference are to become the standard manner of conducting a hearing in examination proceedings, then the complexity of the case should be considered as a serious reason for granting a face-to-face hearing.”
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