The EPO has now released its Annual Review for 2024.
EPO Opposition highlights include:
- 2.1% of granted patents were opposed, compared to 2.3% in 2023
- highest opposition rates were in Agri-food (7.0%) and the lowest in the Digital Technology Community (0.4%)
- mean duration of Oppositions is 20.5 months, with 38.1% of “standard cases” (i.e. excluding cases with (1) multiple opponents, (2) legal members to take evidence and (3) rescheduling of oral proceedings or multiple oral proceedings taking place) completed within 18 months
The report also considered Board of Appeal outcomes:
The EPO press release can be viewed here.
The full report can be viewed here.
