OPPOSITIONS AND APPEALS
The year 2019 saw four oppositions and appeals filed with the EAPO, including three oppositions against granted Eurasian patents filed under the administrative revocation procedure and one appeal against the decision refusing the grant of Eurasian patent.
The information on oppositions and appeals filed with the EAPO within the last 5 years is provided in the Table 1.
| Oppositions and appeals | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Against granted patent | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Against decision of refusal to grant a patent | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Against decision of refusal of patent term extension | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | - |
| Total | 5 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
EAPO examined five oppositions and appeals in 2019 including three oppositions against granted Eurasian patents under the administrative revocation procedure; one appeal against the decision refusing the grant of a Eurasian patent; and one appeal against the decision regarding the examination of the appealed decision on refusal to grant the Eurasian patent.
Table 2 shows the data concerning the outcome of opposition cases examined under the administrative revocation procedure (based on the decisions which took effect) over the last five years (from 2015 to 2019).
| Oppositions against the grant of Eurasian patent | Revocation of the Eurasian patent | Maintenance of the Eurasian patent in amended form | Rejection of the opposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 30% | 20% | 50% |
Table 3 contains the information on the outcome of examined appeals as filed under Rule 48 of the Patent Regulations (based on the decisions which took effect) over the last five years (from 2015 to 2019).
| Appeals | Total | Appeal satisfied | Appeal rejected | Action terminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Against decision of refusal to grant a patent | 8 | 5 | 3 | - |
| 62,5% | 37,5% | - | ||
| Against decision of refusal to grant a patent term extension | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 62,5% | 25% | 12,5% |
The percentage of satisfied appeals, as reflected in Table 3, proves the efficient use by the applicants of the mechanism provided for in Rule 48 of the Patent Regulations.
Provided data show the stability of the general trend of recent years with regard to relatively low number of oppositions received by EAPO under the administrative revocation procedure (0.1 per cent of the total amount of patents granted over the year).
The rate of the appealed decisions of refusal to grant Eurasian patent constitutes 11.1 per cent of the total amount of such decisions taken in 2019. This roughly corresponds to the figures regarding similar appeals in 2018.