Most days of most weeks you will find one or more of our European Patent Attorneys representing clients at Oral Proceedings before the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich, The Hague or Berlin.

We have an enviable reputation for winning difficult opposition and appeals, providing you confidence in the protection of your patents. This has resulted in our patent attorneys being instructed to represent clients in cases of enormous value. Indeed, such is our reputation that we are often instructed on matters where the initial prosecution was handled by a different firm. Where the case merits it, we will put together a team of patent attorneys to work on the opposition or appeal, both during the written procedure and at the Oral Proceedings. We find that winning is about meticulous preparation and clear and confident advocacy.

 

Oral Proceedings by Videoconference
The EPO announced that all Oral Proceedings before Examining Divisions will be held by videoconference from 2 April 2020. Under a pilot project, the EPO are also holding all opposition Oral Proceedings by videoconference under 15 September 2021. Although this is a fairly recent development, we have already had a number of successes at videoconference proceedings before each of the Examining Divisions, the Opposition Divisions, and the Boards of Appeal.

In our offices we have purpose-built videoconferencing suites that can hold up to six people. Each office is equipped with a minimum of 2 x 200  Mb/s leased line connections offering ISP connections with different service providers. Therefore, if one internet provider suffers an outage, the Oral Proceedings can still continue by relying on the connection provided by one of our other service providers. Our IT team also provides physical on-site support in our offices for the duration of the Oral Proceedings.

Our videoconferencing suites have two large screens, typically measuring 65 inches. High-definition cameras are provided under the screens for visibility of the participants and are also mounted to the ceiling such that any documents on the table may be viewed on screen. Screen sharing capabilities are also provided to facilitate discussions during the Oral Proceedings.

Boult Wade Tennant are therefore fully equipped to provide the highest quality of presentation at video conference oral proceedings and so intend to maintain our impressive level of success whether in-person at the EPO or from our own offices around Europe.