In December 2020, oppositions were filed against two national patents before the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. Although the oppositions or the grounds for the opposition are not disclosed, the implementation of the post-grant opposition could be observed within the upcoming months.
Post-grant opposition was introduced by the IP Code enacted in 2017. Accordingly,
- Post-grant opposition must be filed within six months as of the publication of the grant decision.
- The grounds for opposition may be;
- the invention is not novel/does not include an inventive step/is not susceptible of industrial application,
- the subject matter of invention is excluded from patentability,
- the invention subject to the patent in dispute lacks sufficient disclosure
- the invention contains subject matter which extends beyond the content of the application as filed
- It is possible to file post grant oppositions against national patents and patents designated to Turkey through the PCT with an application date as of January 10, 2017 which is the date the new IP Code entered into effect.
Oppositions are notified to the patent owner who may file counter arguments and amendments. The outcome of an opposition can be the refusal of the opposition, the maintenance of the patent or the grant decision as amended. The decision of the Office can be objected within two months before the IP courts by the parties.
For more information please visit our Linkedin page - Deris Intellectual Property
Originally Published by Deris Legal, April 2021
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.