1. What is the purpose of an opposition procedure?

The opposition procedure, which is administrative (not judicial) in nature, enables a third party to challenge the validity of a patent directly before the office that granted it, in this case the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), with the aim of obtaining its revocation or limiting its scope.

Opposition proceedings offer numerous advantages in terms of cost, effect and speed. It offers a particularly advantageous alternative to nullity proceedings.

As for the patentee, if he obtains rejection of the opposition, he will see his title strengthened all the more.

Prior to 1 ^er April 2020, the only possible procedure for revoking a French patent was to bring an invalidity action before the competent judicial authority (see Bringing down a troublesome...