The European Patent Office (EPO) is making significant
inroads into its notorious patent examination and opposition
backlogs. This has brought its own issues, but applicants can still
obtain the patent protection they deserve.
Background
The patent prosecution process at the EPO has traditionally been
relatively slow. Some applications would not be searched and
examined for several years and it was not unusual for responses to
examination reports (Office Actions) to go unexamined for a year or
more. Three or four examination reports would be issued before
proceedings were brought to a head, either by allowance of the
application or by being called to Oral Proceedings (a hearing).
Post-grant opposition proceedings were also very slow and could
take many years. Such delays led to uncertainty for all parties
involved.
