Changed Priorities At The EPO

The issue of priority rights has for several years been a hot topic at the EPO, particularly in opposition proceedings (where a finding that a patentee is not entitled to claim a priority right may be catastrophic for their patent).

Now the EPO's Enlarged Board of Appeal have issued their Decision in combined cases G1/22 and G2/22 regarding the right to claim priority. We reported the preliminary opinion here, noting that it seemed likely that - provided the EPO was competent to consider entitlement to priority - then the "joint applicants" approach was the correct one. That is, a PCT application jointly filed by multiple parties can validly claim priority from an application filed by only one or some of those parties.