Opposition
A transparent opposition procedure that provides legally valid decisions
The EPO's aim in its opposition procedure is to act with the utmost impartiality and deliver legally valid decisions on time. Each case is dealt with by an opposition division composed of three highly experienced examiners, who can be joined by a legal member when required.
Independent quality audits
Besides its audits of classification, search, and grant products every year, Directorate Quality Audit (DQA) audits opposition when mandated by the President. In 2022, 100 opposition decisions and procedures were audited, of which 12 had findings. In only four of these the auditor disagreed with the decision. This total of 12 decisions with findings can be seen as a slight improvement in quality compared with the 2018 results, when the total number with findings was 14 out of 90 decisions.
Timely access to legal certainty
The average duration of a standard opposition1 action takes 19.3 months, which is only slightly above the 18-month target. 43.4% of opposition cases were decided within 18 months (our target is 70%). Non-standard files2 take on average six months longer. We have now put in place a dedicated acceleration mechanism for opposition files for cases where we are informed of parallel national court or UPC proceedings (OJ EPO 2023, A99).
User satisfaction survey
The user satisfaction survey gives a reliable view of how our users rate opposition. Overall satisfaction levels in the 2022/2023 survey (satisfactory and very satisfactory ratings) were 70% for the opposition procedure. High satisfaction levels were noted in the areas of "Fair treatment", with 79% stating that performance in this respect was very good or good. With regard to duration of the procedure, a 54% satisfaction rate was recorded.
The results of the USS 2022/2023 have been available since May 2023 and formed the basis for quality improvement actions.
Arrows indicate statistically significant changes.
Source: BERENT, EPO
The next USS results will become available in 2025.
1 Standard oppositions exclude cases with (1) multiple opponents, (2) legal members to take evidence and (3) rescheduling of oral proceedings or multiple oral proceedings took place.
2 Involving multiple parties or a legal member, or where the oral proceeding needed to be rescheduled.