For the European Patent Office (EPO), Zoom has proven to be a reliable and secure video conferencing platform for conducting oral proceedings. The EPO sees this confirmed by the positive experience it has gained in oral proceedings in appeal, opposition and examination.

On June 23, 2021, the EPO announced that effective October 1, 2021, all oral proceedings before the Receiving Section, Legal Division and Examining Divisions will be conducted exclusively via Zoom. Skype-for-Business will therefore be decommissioned as of October 1, 2021. All already scheduled oral proceedings that were to take place via Skype-for-Business will therefore be switched to Zoom as of this date.