European Patents Opposed
Since 2018 the EPO has not reported the numbers of patents
opposed but based on information in the "Bulletin Search"
database that number decreased in 2020. However, the number was
still consistent with a general level of patents opposed which is
around 25% higher than the more or less uniform level which
prevailed from 2011 to 2016. The increased level of patents opposed
each year followed, but has by no means kept pace with, increases
in the numbers of patents granted.
First Instance Opposition Decisions
Since 2018 the EPO has not reported on first instance opposition
decisions, neither on the number of those decisions nor on what the
first instance outcomes were (e.g. patent revoked; opposition
rejected). Unfortunately, first instance decisions are not
separately noted in the "Bulletin Search" database, which
records only final decisions.
