T 71/21 – Payment of the appeal fee by automatic debit procedure not open to the opponent – A confirmation of the special status of the opponent

The outline of the case

The opponent filed the notice of appeal electronically, within the required time limit.

The notice of appeal was received with an accompanying letter, Form 1038. This form is generated automatically (among other things) as part of the online fee payment when a debit order is issued to the EPO,