Wednesday, January 10, 2018 T 796/12 - Appeal of opponent which is no longer registered as company

They may not really exist...., but they are coming for you

Is the appeal of an opponent valid, if the company that filed the appeal is no longer registered as a company? 

The patent proprietor argues that the appeal is inadmissable either because the opponent was no longer registered at the date the appeal was filed, or because the opponent was subsequently taken over by a different entity without this change having been notified.

The Board refers to national law, and concludes that German law does not preclude a company which is no longer registered from appealing an opposition decision, even as  opponent. 

Friday, May 27, 2016 T 1563/13 - Transfer of opponent status

This opposition appeal deals with the transfer of opponent status.

The business of an opponent had transferred from an old company to a new company. An appeal is then filed in the new name of the old company for a running opposition. During the appeal, a request is filed by the opponent to transfer to opponent status to the new company. 

The proprietor considers the appeal inadmissible, since the business transfer happened before the appeal was filed. The proprietor considers the appeal admissible since the request for transfer of opponent status was filed after the appeal was filed. The board rules in favor of the opponent, and deems the appeal admissible.