Patents

EPO oppositions & appeals

When a European patent is granted by the EPO, it can be opposed on grounds of invalidity by any third party. At Beck Greener, we are highly experienced and successful at helping our clients through opposition and subsequent appeal proceedings, both when their patents are opposed and when opposing third party patents.

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There are various ways of opposing a patent granted by the European Patent Office. It may be that it contains subject matter not in the application as filed, for example; that it does not sufficiently describe the claimed invention; or because the claims are not new or inventive.

If your European patent is opposed, we can work with you to contest the objections which have been raised and attempt to overcome them, either by rebutting the arguments or amending the claims. Our experienced patent attorneys can also advise you on where we might need to supply extra information, such as technical reports.

Conversely, you may identify a patent that has been, or will be, granted, and that contains claims that could cause you problems. In this case we can assess the patent for you and advise on possible opposition strategies. We can also help you identify suitable prior art documents and propose experiments that could be useful.

We regularly appear before the opposition divisions and boards of appeal to present our clients’ cases, where our tenacious and creative experts have achieved a very high success rate.

'Beck Greener is "an exceptional patent firm which delivers the best for each client, from application to potential disputes." The firm impresses with its very successful EPO oppositions and appeals practice, and is regularly selected by major multinationals as adviser for European patent prosecution.'

Legal 500 2022 - Patents