| European Case Law Identifier: | ECLI:EP:BA:2022:T206819.20220719 | ||||||||
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| Date of decision: | 19 July 2022 | ||||||||
| Case number: | T 2068/19 | ||||||||
| Application number: | 11776826.7 | ||||||||
| IPC class: | A61M 5/50 A61M 5/20 A61M 5/315 A61M 5/32 |
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| Language of proceedings: | EN | ||||||||
| Distribution: | D | ||||||||
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| Title of application: | INJECTION DEVICES | ||||||||
| Applicant name: | Owen Mumford Limited | ||||||||
| Opponent name: | PFIZER LIMITED SHL Group AB Ypsomed AG Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH |
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| Board: | 3.2.02 | ||||||||
| Headnote: | - | ||||||||
| Relevant legal provisions: |
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| Keywords: | Lapse of patent in all designated states - termination of appeal proceedings | ||||||||
| Catchwords: |
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Summary of Facts and Submissions
I. The appeals of the patent proprietor and of opponent 4 are directed against the decision of the opposition division posted on 10 May 2019 that, account being taken of the amendments made by the patent proprietor during the opposition proceedings, the European patent No. 2 632 518 and the invention to which it relates were found to meet the requirements of the Convention.
II. With communication of 2 November 2021, the parties were informed that the patent had lapsed in all designated Contracting States. The appellant/patent proprietor and the appellant/opponent 4 were requested to inform the board within a period of two months after notification of the communication, whether they requested the appeal proceedings to be continued or not.
III. With a letter dated 16 December 2021 appellant/opponent 4 requested that the appeal proceedings be continued only if the appellant/patent proprietor would also request to continue it.
IV. No answer to the communication was received by the appellant/patent proprietor within the two months period.
Reasons for the Decision
1. As mentioned above the patent has lapsed in all designated Contracting States.
2. In such a case, according to Rule 84(1) EPC, which is to be applied in opposition appeal proceedings (Rule 100(1) EPC), the opposition appeal proceedings may be continued at the request of the appellant/opponent filed within two months of a communication from the European Patent Office informing him of the lapse.
3. In analogy to Rule 84(1) EPC, the opposition appeal proceedings may be continued at the request of the
appellant/patent proprietor filed within two months of
a communication from the European Patent Office
informing him of the lapse (e.g. T 0708/01, point 1 of
the Reasons).
4. A continuation of the appeal proceedings was requested by appellant/opponent 4 only in case the proprietor would also request continuation. However, the proprietor did not file such a request. Therefore, the appeal proceedings are to be terminated.
Order
For these reasons it is decided that:
The appeal proceedings are terminated.
