Opposition

Even if German and European patents undergo rigorous examination, the validity of granted patents can be challenged from a legal point of view. For instance, the competent patent examiner may have failed to fully take into account the relevant prior art. If a competitor is granted a patent whose scope of protection reduces your freedom to operate as a business, it is worthwhile to perform a thorough assessment  of the patent examination proceeding and the granted patent in due time, i.e. within nine months of the date the German or European patent was granted, to initiate opposition proceedings, if necessary. If such opposition proceedings are successful, the third-party patent will be revoked or its scope of protection will at least be limited, which gives your business greater freedom to operate.

We are experienced in the handling of German and European opposition proceedings at any level of jurisdiction. Drawing on both our engineering expertise and litigation experience, we will realistically assess the chances of the opposition’s success in advance and challenge unjustified patents, which may cause problems for you. In the case of European patents, in particular, this is an effective way to prevent pan-European obstacles for you. Otherwise, these patents would have to be attacked in a great number of national proceedings. We will keep an eye on any potential interactions with parallel infringement proceedings pending or other parallel proceedings.