Referrals to the Enlarged Board of Appeal

If for acknowledgement of inventive step the patent proprietor relies on a technical effect and has submitted evidence, such as experimental data, to prove such an effect, this evidence not having been public before the filing date of the patent in suit and having been filed after that date (“post-published evidence”): 
   • Should an exception to the principle of free evaluation of evidence (see e.g. G 3/97, r.5, and G 1/12, r.31) be accepted in that post-published evidence must be disregarded on the ground that the proof of the effect rests exclusively on the post-published evidence?
   • If yes, can post-published evidence then be taken into consideration if, based on the information in the patent application in suit or the common general knowledge, the skilled person at the filing date of the patent application in suit would have considered the effect plausible (“ab initio plausibility”), or is it already sufficient if, based on the information in the patent application in suit or the common general knowledge, the skilled person at the filing date of the patent application in suit would have seen no reason to consider the effect implausible (“ab initio implausibility”)? (EPO Board of Appeal, 11/10/2021, T 116/18; pending before the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal as G 2/21)