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Notice No. 3/18

of the President of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office concerning the guidelines for opposition proceedings, revocation and limitation proceedings before the DPMA of 3 July 2018

The guidelines for opposition proceedings in patent cases have been fundamentally revised and supplemented for the first time by the guidelines for revocation and limitation proceedings pursuant to Section 64 of the Patent Act (Patentgesetz). The guidelines will enter into force in their new version on 1 August 2018. They will replace the guidelines for opposition proceedings before the DPMA of 18 January 2007 (Blatt für Patent-, Muster- und Zeichenwesen 2007, p. 49).

The guidelines exemplify official practice against the background of the legal framework and thereby also take into account the information needs of small and medium-sized enterprises as well as individual applicants. The current version of the guidelines (in German: Richtlinien für das Einspruchsverfahren, Widerrufs- und Beschränkungsverfahren vor dem DPMA) is available on the Internet at: "Guidelines and notes on the patent procedure".

The President of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office
Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer

Last updated: 16 July 2018