In some cases, the parties justify late filing with circumstances extraneous to the proceedings. The boards have refused to accept the following justifications: T 160/89 (heavy workload); T 148/92 (doubts as to the definitive embodiment of the invention; appellant's frequent need to travel); T 626/90 (lack of timely instructions), T 583/93 (OJ 1996, 496; lack of communication between the patentee and the licensee); T 575/94 (new instructions); T 1697/13 (necessary consultation of the applicant) and T 2575/11 (transfer of the patent and change of representative).
Source: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/caselaw/2019/e/clr_v_a_4_8_1.htm
Date retrieved: 17 May 2021