Opposition Statistics July 1999

Charrier Rapp & Liebau in cooperation with
Waibel Rubach Hoppert & Kollegen, Munich, Germany by Dr. Elisabeth Vorbuchner LL.M

By mid June 1999 the Opposition Division had received a total of about 16,000 oppositions. About 11,000 had been filed in 1998. It can been seen that the opposition rate continues to be slightly under 20 % of the Community trade mark applications published. The Opposition division has now rendered 1,100 decisions, 300 of which were on purely procedural issues and 800 of which were on substantive issues, 350 refusing the opposed Community trade mark applications, totally or partially, and 450 accepting the Community trade mark and refusing the opposition.
The number of appeals filed against decisions of the Opposition Division constitutes around 27 % of the cases. The Boards of Appeal have taken 15 decisions on the opposition cases, 12 reversing the contested decision and 3 confirming it.