Patent Opposition Services
A competitor’s patent can block your product, and a granted patent is not necessarily a valid one. Panoramix IP helps you challenge patents that should not stand and defend your own when they come under attack, with an in-house team that handles the strategy, the prior art and the advocacy, so your freedom to operate and your portfolio are both protected.
Opposition proceedings, particularly at the European Patent Office, offer a powerful and cost-effective way to revoke or narrow a patent centrally, without the expense of national litigation across multiple countries.
• Central challenge to European patents through EPO opposition
• Prior art searching and grounds analysis to build a strong case
• Defence of your own granted patents against opposition
Click below or call us on 01522 712 433 to discuss opposing or defending a patent.
Patent Opposition Experts: Here To Help
Our patent professionals help you use opposition proceedings to your advantage, whether you need to remove a competitor’s patent that is standing in your way or defend a patent of your own that is being challenged.
Here’s what we help with:
• Opposition to European patents at the European Patent Office (EPO)
• Prior art searching to support novelty and inventive step challenges
• Analysis of grounds, including novelty, inventive step, added matter and sufficiency
• Drafting and filing notices of opposition within the deadline
• Defending your granted patents against third-party oppositions
• Appeals before the EPO Boards of Appeal
• Coordinating opposition strategy with patent litigation and freedom-to-operate considerations
Our Patent Opposition Process
Whether you are opposing or defending, here’s how it works with Panoramix IP:
• We have a quick call to understand the patent, the technology and your commercial interest
• We analyse the patent and identify the strongest available grounds of challenge or defence
• We commission or review prior art searches to underpin the case
• We prepare and file the notice of opposition, or the response, within the strict deadlines
• We represent you through the written procedure and oral proceedings
• We advise on appeal to the Boards of Appeal where the outcome warrants it
Brands we have Helped
A Cost-Effective Way to Clear the Path
When a competitor’s European patent threatens your product, opposition at the EPO offers a centralised route to revoke or narrow it, with a single set of proceedings that can affect the patent across every country in which it takes effect. That is often far more efficient than challenging the patent through separate national patent litigation.
The opposition period is time-limited, generally nine months from grant, so acting promptly is essential. We monitor relevant grants, assess the merits of a challenge and build the strongest possible case within the deadline, giving you a proportionate way to protect your freedom to operate.
Where a competitor’s patent presents a potential infringement risk, our patent infringement and protection team can also help assess the wider commercial position and available options.
Defending Your Patent Under Attack
If your own patent is opposed, the stakes are high. A successful opposition can revoke or significantly narrow a right you have invested in and may be relying on commercially. A robust, well-argued defence is essential to preserving its value.
Our team defends granted patents against opposition, responding to the grounds raised, proposing amendments where tactically sensible, and representing you through written proceedings, oral hearings and any appeal. We aim to keep your patent as strong and as broad as the prior art allows. Our wider patent protection services can also help you build, manage and protect your patent portfolio throughout its lifecycle.
Book a free 45-minute consultation with our team to discuss your situation, and we can advise on the best next steps to take.
FAQs
What is a patent opposition?
An opposition is a procedure that allows a third party to challenge the validity of a granted patent at the patent office, rather than through the courts. At the European Patent Office it is a central procedure that can revoke or amend a European patent across the states in which it has effect, making it a powerful and cost-effective tool.
Where court proceedings are also required, opposition can form part of a wider patent litigation strategy.
What is the deadline to oppose a European patent?
Opposition to a European patent must generally be filed within nine months of the mention of grant being published. This deadline is strict, so it is important to monitor competitor patents and act promptly.
If the opposition window has closed, other routes to challenge a patent may still be available. Our patent litigation team can advise on the available options and the most proportionate strategy.
On what grounds can a patent be opposed?
At the EPO the main grounds include lack of novelty, lack of inventive step, insufficient disclosure, where the patent does not enable the invention to be worked, and added subject matter, where the patent extends beyond the application as filed.
We analyse which grounds are available and strongest in your case, using relevant prior art and detailed technical analysis to build the challenge or defence.
How is opposition different from litigation?
Opposition is a patent office procedure that determines validity centrally and is generally more cost-effective than court proceedings, but it cannot award damages or an injunction. Patent litigation can be used to enforce or challenge patent rights through the courts and can provide remedies such as injunctions and damages.
The two routes can sometimes form part of the same coordinated patent strategy, and we can advise on how they interact.
My patent has been opposed. Can I still save it?
Frequently, yes. Many opposed patents survive, sometimes with amendments that keep meaningful protection in place. The key is a well-prepared defence that responds to the grounds raised and, where helpful, proposes fallback amendments.
We defend granted patents through the full EPO procedure, including appeal, with the aim of preserving commercially valuable patent protection wherever possible.
Can I appeal the outcome of an opposition?
Yes. Decisions of the EPO Opposition Division can be appealed to the Boards of Appeal by either side. Appeals involve their own procedures and deadlines, so the merits and commercial value of continuing the challenge should be assessed carefully.
We advise on the prospects and, where worthwhile, represent you through the appeal as part of the wider strategy for protecting or challenging the patent.
How much does a patent opposition cost?
Opposition is generally far less expensive than multi-country litigation, although the cost depends on the complexity of the technology, the prior art, the number of issues in dispute and how far the proceedings run, including any appeal.
We will scope the work and provide a clear estimate before proceeding. Where there are parallel infringement or validity issues, we can also advise on the relative costs and benefits of opposition compared with patent litigation.
Client Testimonials
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Our Case Studies
Case Study: British American Tobacco
Case Study: Cambridge Mechatronics
Case Study: The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys
Case Study: Wow Hydrate
Case Study: The Earthshot Prize
Case Study: Escape Fitness
