The European Patent Office (EPO) published a decision on 22 November 2022 of the President of the EPO that all oral proceedings held before examining divisions, opposition divisions, the Legal Division and the Receiving Section are to be held by videoconference (ViCo) by default. The decision can be seen here.

All oral proceedings held before examining divisions, the Legal Division and the Receiving Section have been held by ViCo by default for some time. However, owing to the complexities of inter partes oral proceedings in opposition proceedings, a pilot project was launched in April 2020 to test the feasibility of conducting oral proceedings in opposition proceedings by ViCo.

A recent final report concluded that, following increasingly favourable user feedback, the pilot project was in a position to end and recommended that oral proceedings held before opposition divisions should be by ViCo as a default.

Oral proceedings can still be held in person at the EPO if requested by one of the parties to the proceedings and serious reasons against holding the oral proceedings by ViCo are satisfactorily provided.

The decision enters into force on 1st January 2023 and applies to all oral proceedings before examining and opposition divisions, the Legal Division and the Receiving Section scheduled to take place on or after this date.