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The validity of a European patent can be scrutinised both at the national level, before a national court, and at the international level, before the European Patent Office during opposition or before the UPC. The same is not true for infringement proceedings, upon which national courts and the UPC exercise exclusive jurisdiction.
Timeframes for filing opposition: The period during which an opposition can be filed may commence immediately after the publication of the patent application, after a positive examination result, or following the grant of the patent. The duration of this period varies, typically ranging from two to six months for pre-grant oppositions and six ...
An opposition proceeding is an administrative process available under the patent and trademark law of many jurisdictions which allows third parties to formally challenge the validity of a pending patent application ("pre-grant opposition"), of a granted patent ("post-grant opposition"), or of a trademark.
A characteristic of European patent law as it stands today is that European patents granted by the European Patent Office (EPO), and patents granted by national patent offices are available, [3] and may possibly –if permitted by national law and, if so, to the extent permitted by national law [4] – co-exist within a given jurisdiction.
The EPC of 1973 made no provision for a limitation procedure, [6] and a fortiori no provision for centrally limiting a European patent before the EPO after the nine-month period for filing an opposition (nine months as from the date of grant of the European patent). The travaux préparatoires laid out the rationale for a limitation procedure:
EPO headquarters in Munich, Germany, where the Boards of Appeal were based until 2017.. Decisions of the first instance departments of the European Patent Office (EPO) can be appealed, i.e. challenged, before the Boards of Appeal of the EPO, in a judicial procedure (proper to an administrative court), as opposed to an administrative procedure. [1]
Since June 2012, [3] the Guidelines comprise eight parts, relating respectively to the formalities examination (Part A), the search (Part B), the procedural aspects of substantive examination (Part C), the opposition and limitation/revocation procedures (Part D), general procedural matters (Part E), the European patent application (Part F), patentability (Part G), and the amendments and ...
Under Article 64(3) EPC, "any infringement of a European patent shall be dealt with by national law," with the European Patent Office having no legal competence to deal with and to decide on patent infringements in the Contracting States to the EPC. A few, limited aspects relating to the infringement of European patents are however prescribed ...