Earlier this year, the EPO announced a pilot scheme for Opposition Division Oral Proceedings via videoconference. The pilot scheme, however, required that the parties to the proceedings agreed to the use of videoconference. This meant that parties could delay proceedings by refusing to attend via videoconference and one suspects that because of this, the EPO's backlog of opposition cases has grown significantly since the beginning of 2020.
In an attempt to combat the backlog, the EPO has now announced that the pilot scheme for videoconference Oral Proceedings at the Opposition Divisions will be extended to 15 September 2021, and that all in-person hearings will be postponed until after this date. From 4 January 2021, all examination and opposition hearings will therefore be held via videoconference and in-person hearings will only take place in exceptional circumstances (see here).
The move to videoconference-only proceedings is a mixed blessing for parties. With no travel costs, videoconference Oral Proceedings are undoubtedly a lower-cost option and as such it is difficult to see why some parties would choose to go back to in-person hearings. The EPO has also seemed to be more flexible in allowing requests to move start times to accommodate parties based in countries operating outside of the Central European Time zone. However, the closure of the "loophole" allowing a postponement for parties objecting to videoconference Oral Proceedings means that there are again very few grounds on which a request for a postponement of Oral Proceedings may be granted. Parties may therefore find themselves needing to fund multiple hearings in a short space of time as the EPO seeks to make up for lost time.
While the Examination and Opposition Divisions seem to have embraced videoconference Oral Proceedings, there has been no further update at this time from the Boards of Appeal, which still seem to favour in-person hearings.
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