Opposing a patent is a procedure that allows you to protect your freedom to operateIf you find that a third party has been granted a patent for an innovation very similar to the one you are exploiting. If a patent is granted, the holder has a monopoly on exploitation, and would be entitled to sue anyone who reproduces the invention for infringement. The opposition procedure then consists of proving that the invention should not have been patented, for example, because it existed long before the patent was filed, and requesting that the patent be annulled or limited.
Don’t be an infringer yourself
It’s essential to keep a watch on your field of activity, so as to detect those who may be applying for a patent for an invention very similar to yours. The European patent enables you to acquire a monopoly on the exploitation of your invention in all member countries of the European Union, and even beyond (Switzerland or Turkey, for example). An agreement between 28 European countries enables inventors to be granted a European patent under a single procedure.
This means that if a third party obtains a patent for an invention in Europe, while you were exploiting it on your side, you automatically become an infringer of this patent and can be prosecuted as such. If you were exploiting this invention before your competitor’s patent was filed, to be able to continue exploiting it without being judged an infringer, you will need to prove the date in a certain way, for example by means of a Soleau envelope, a time stamp or a bailiff’s signature on a laboratory notebook you had made before the patent was filed.
Information :
From July 1, 2022, the bailiff will become the judicial commissioner.
Why oppose a patent?
The procedure of opposing a patent protects your freedom to operate. With the help of an industrial property attorney, when the watch reveals that a competitor’s patent has been granted, you will be in a position within 9 months to put together a file proving that the novel and/or inventive character of the invention claimed in the competitor’s patent is questionable. In Europe, theEuropean Patent Office (EPO) will be able to re-evaluate the competitor’s file, and possibly reject or limit his patent application, on the basis of your arguments.
Don’t want your competitor to know that you’re behind the opposition to their patent? Don’t worry, we can act on behalf of our firm, without your name appearing.
European patent
Oppose a patent and protect yourself
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Opposition to a French patent
At present, although preparations are underway, there is no procedure enabling you to oppose a French patent. This specificity concerns the European patent.
Did you know?A patent is a national title of ownership, valid only in the country where it was filed and granted. The European patent enables you to obtain protection for your invention in the 28 member states of the European Patent Convention. However, there is no international patent valid worldwide.
However, as soon as you notice that a competitor has filed a patent application with theInstitut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI)Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI), you have 3 months from the publication of the preliminary search report to provide the INPI with additional elements which, to your knowledge, would be relevant against this patent. This procedure, known as “third-party observation”, enables INPI to take cognizance of additional arguments and documents to object to this patent, and to revise its opinion as to the novelty and inventiveness of the invention. Strictly speaking, this is not an opposition procedure for a French patent, as it is not possible once the patent has been granted by the INPI.
The patent is valid for 20 years in France. After 18 months, the invention is made public.
What’s new for opposition to a French patent
In May 2018, the Prime Minister of the French Republic Édouard Philippe announced measures aimed at facilitating procedures for inventors, in order to provide a new springboard for innovation in the country. Among these announcements is the “opposition procedure to a French patent“. This will make it possible to request the revocation or limitation of a French patent obtained from the INPI by a third party, if it can be proved that the patent lacks novelty or inventiveness. This is a novelty in French industrial property procedures, which will enable inventors with limited means, SMEs and start-ups to protect their freedom of exploitation in the face of patents that should not have been granted, and for which a monopoly on the exploitation of an invention would be wrongly granted to a competitor.
By democratizing access to patents for all, YesMyPatent.com makes invention protection accessible, with professional, high-end support for inventors. We enable you to file your patent for less, and make all opposition procedures in Europe, and soon in France, accessible.
UPDATE 06/02/2019: After a vote in the National Assembly, on February 5, 2019 the Senate adopted the draft of a new patent opposition procedure, included in the PACTE law. Opposing a patent will be able to be done at the INPI.
