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ARTICLE · 15 JUNE 2016

EPO Announces Streamlined Opposition Proceedings

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Opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office ("EPO") are notoriously slow, as a rule lasting an average of 3.5 years.

European UnionIntellectual Property
Diana Leguizamón-Morales
Diana Leguizamón-Morales
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Opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office ("EPO") are notoriously slow, as a rule lasting an average of 3.5 years. As part of efforts to increase procedural efficiency, the EPO has revised the procedure for first instance Opposition Proceedings, with the aim of issuing decisions in "straightforward" cases within 15 months of expiry of the opposition period. The revised procedure is detailed in an EPO Notice of June 1, 2016 and will come into force on July 1, 2016.

The revised opposition procedure mainly concerns limiting the time available for patent owners to respond to notices of opposition. Presently, patent owners are given a four-month period to respond to oppositions, extendable by a further two-month period, which is generally granted upon request without substantiation. Starting July 1, 2016, extensions of time will be allowed only in exceptional cases with duly substantiated requests. Specific information about the exceptional cases or the

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