Düsseldorf, March 6, 2024 – Opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office (EPO) will be accelerated in the future if the EPO is informed of infringement or revocation actions running in parallel at the Unified Patent Court (UPC), a national court, or a competent authority of a contracting state. The extent to which a case is accelerated depends on when the EPO is informed of the parallel action.
If the EPO is notified during the nine-month opposition period following the grant of a European patent, the proprietor will be invited to file observations within three months – instead of the usual four months – after expiry of this period. The summons to oral proceedings will be issued within two months of receiving the proprietor’s reply, summoning the parties at minimum notice. Further scenarios showing the impact of this acceleration can be found on the EPO website.
Cohausz & Florack (C&F) welcomes the EPO’s decision: “These measures will further improve the legal certainty of rulings in patent infringement suits. This benefits claimants and defendants equally and strengthens the EU as a court location,” says Gottfried Schüll, patent attorney and partner at C&F. These acceleration measures apply with immediate effect, also to pending proceedings.
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