Evidence

You may need to file evidence in patent proceedings once a statement of grounds and counter-statement has been filed or when requesting restoration or reinstatement of a patent.

What form should evidence take?

There are no formal requirements for filing evidence in relation to an application for restoration of a patent or reinstatement of a patent application.

If you are involved in patent proceedings however, your evidence should take the form of a witness statement. This is a written statement by a witness about the facts of the case. It may strengthen your case if you can also supply witness statements from others who do not have a personal interest in the case.

To provide certain facts, you may need to send us documents such as invoices or letters. These are known as exhibits. You need to number them clearly, refer to them in your witness statement and sign them.

When should I file my evidence?

When you file an application for restoration of a patent or a request for reinstatement of a patent application, you should also file your evidence.

If you are involved in proceedings within the Office we will write to you to let you know when you should file your evidence. Our usual procedure involves three rounds of evidence, each of six weeks.

• If you are the claimant you will be invited to file your main evidence first
• If you are the defendant, you then file your main evidence. You may also file evidence in response to the claimant’s evidence
• If you are the claimant, you may then respond to the defendant’s evidence by filing evidence strictly in reply.

However, we will also consider an alternative approach involving the simultaneous exchange of evidence by both sides.

What happens next?

We will consider the evidence and will contact you about the arrangements for the hearing.