Reviews

If a party does not agree with an opinion, they might want to challenge it. This can be done in a number of ways. For example, to disagree with an opinion that says a patent is valid, revocation proceedings could be filed in the court or with us. These might result in the patent being cancelled. To disagree with an opinion that says a particular act infringes a patent, proceedings may be filed seeking a declaration of non-infringement.

Another way of challenging an opinion is to apply for it to be reviewed. A review consists of full legal proceedings here in the Intellectual Property Office. As a result of the proceedings, we will either agree with the opinion or we will set it aside.

We will not cancel a patent if we find it to be invalid nor will we award damages if we find a particular act infringes the patent. However, either of these matters may be pursued as a result of the review, by filing revocation or infringement proceedings.

Request a review

Only the patent proprietor or an exclusive licensee may request a review, but even then, a review may only be requested in certain circumstances.

Award of costs

If the opinion is upheld on review, the person who requested the review may have to contribute to the legal costs of any other party involved in the review. These typically might run to GBP £1000 or more.