OPPOSITIONS AND APPEALS
The year 2020 saw seven oppositions and appeals filed with the EAPO, including two oppositions against granted Eurasian patents filed under the administrative revocation procedure, two appeals against the decision refusing the grant of Eurasian patent and three appeals against refusing the renewal of Eurasian patent. In addition to that, in 2020, an appeal was filed against the decision of examination of the appeal filed under the procedure of administrative revocation of the 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 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| against granted patent | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| against decision of refusal to grant a patent | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| against decision of refusal of patent term extension | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | 3 |
| Total | 12 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
In 2020 the EAPO have examined six oppositions and appeals, of which two oppositions against granted Eurasian patents under the administrative revocation procedure; two appeals against the decision refusing the grant of a Eurasian patent; and two appeals against refusing the renewal of 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 2016 to 2020).
| Oppositions against the grant of Eurasian patent | Revocation of the Eurasian patent | Maintenance of the Eurasian patent in amended form | Rejection of the opposition | Action terminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 27,3% | 27,3% | 36,4% | 9% |
In 2020, the general trend of recent years also continued, reflecting the low number of oppositions received by the EAPO under the administrative revocation procedure (0.07 per cent of the total number of granted Eurasian patents for the year).
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 2016 to 2020).
| Appeals | Total | Appeals satisfied | Appeals rejected | Action terminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| against decision of refusal to grant a patent | 9 | 5 | 4 | - |
| 55,6% | 44,4% | 0% | ||
| against decision of refusal to grant a patent term extension | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 57,1% | 28,6% | 14,3% |
The percentage of satisfied appeals, as reflected in Table 3, proves the effectiveness of the mechanism provided for in Rule 48 of the Patent Regulations and its efficient use by the applicants.
The rate of the appealed decisions of refusal to grant Eurasian patent has continuously remained low in the recent years, which demonstrates the legality and validity of the decisions made (Table 4 contains the respective data for the past five years).
| Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of appealed decisions of refusal to grant Eurasian patent | 26,7 | 16,7 | 11,1 | 11,1 | 16,7 |