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Form EP2300 – EP Opposition procedure

Form EP2300, also referred to as EP(Oppo), is used for filing a notice of opposition to a European patent (first communication). Depending on the purpose of the filing, various options are possible:

  • All natural or legal persons can use Form EP2300 to file an opposition to a patent with the EPO, provided they have their residence or corporate headquarters in a contracting state to the EPC. Opponents may be represented by one of their employees.
  • Further parties can join ongoing opposition proceeding as interveners and designate any representatives they may have. Both opponents and interveners can designate other persons as witnesses.
  • Persons who do not have their residence in a contracting state to the EPC must authorise a professional representative or a legal practitioner entitled to act as a professional representative.

ℹ️ Note

To subsequently file additional information and documents on an opposition already filed (second communication), form EP1038 OPPO should be used instead.

XML files for an EP2300 application​

The following two XML files are required for an EP2300 application to be imported. Note that unlike in EP1001 and EP1200, there is no application-body.xml.

File nameDTDDescription
package-data.xmlpackage-data.dtdReferences attached documents including ep-opposition-data.xml file.
ep-opposition-data.xmlep-xmit-opposition-data-v1.5.dtdApplication data as entered in Form EP2300, references attached documents.

The XML structure of package-data.xml is the same as for EP1001 applications - see section: Form EP1001 - References from XML files to other files

More information on the XML structure of the ep-opposition-data.xml file can be found below and in subsequent sections in this chapter.

Basic structure of ep-opposition-data.xml​

The ep-opposition-data.xml file contains the application data in Form EP2300. Its root element is <ep-xmit-opposition-data>, which contains the following attributes:

XML AttributeAttribute DescriptionExample/fixed value
dtd-versionVersion of DTD used.Fixed value: "1.1"
langProcedural language for the application, indicated by its 2-letter language code (en, fr, de).Fixed value: “en”
date-producedDate/time of package generation in “YYYYMMDD hh:mm:ss” format.E.g.: "20240122 11:19:17"

The table below lists the top-level XML elements under <ep-xmit-opposition-data> and their key attributes:

XML ElementDescription and attributes
<file-reference-id>User's file reference. This is the internal ID name for the EP2300 submission, as it will appear on the OLF2.0 GUI for edition/review. Can be any name chosen by the user with the following limitations:
Up to 25 characters long.
No blank spaces.
E.g.: <file-reference-id>My_2300_request</file-reference-id>
<publication-reference>
<application-reference>		Basic application/patent information for the EP2300 submission, including the corresponding EP application no. and date of grant.
See EP2300 – General information for details
<gazette-reference>Contains information related to the publication of the granted patent in the European Patent Bulletin.
See EP2300 – General information for details
<invention-title>Title of the invention of the opposed application/patent, in the EPO language selected for EP2300.
E.g.:
<invention-title>INDUSTRIAL TRUCK EQUIPPED FOR DRIVERLESS AUTONOMOUS OPERATION</invention-title>
<assignees>Contains a single element stating the name of the proprietor of the application/patent that is being opposed.
See EP2300 – General information for details.
<ep-opposition-external-party>List of main parties involved in the opposition procedure (opponent, interveners, representatives).
Attributes:
external-party-role: Role of the filing party in the EP2300 submission: "opponent" or “intervener”.
This section contains a single <ep-external-party-participants> XML element, which in turn contains a set of child elements providing the information about each opponent/intervener. Additionally, if representatives are also designated, it may contain an <ep-agents> section listing them.
Please see EP2300 – Parties for full details and example cases.
Note that the information regarding parties of type witness is stored separately in element <ep-opposition-notice> (see below).
<ep-opposition-notice>This section contains a set of child elements holding the information about the scope/grounds for the opposition procedure and any requests included in the submission (e.g., request for oral proceedings).
E.g.:
<ep-opposition-notice>
<opposition-filed-against>
<entire-patent/>
</opposition-filed-against>
<grounds-for-opposition>
<opposition-subject-matter>
<novelty-not-valid/>
</opposition-subject-matter>
</grounds-for-opposition>
<ep-submission-requests>
<ep-submission-request request-type="oral-proceedings"/>
</ep-submission-requests>
</ep-opposition-notice>
Please see the following sections for details and additional example cases:
EP2300 – General information
EP2300 – Requests
Additionally, if expert witnesses are cited in the EP2300 submission, this section may also contain their party data. Please see EP2300 – Parties / Witnesses for the full details.
<ep-electronic-files>The <ep-xmit-opposition-data> element will contain one or more <ep-electronic-files> elements, holding information about each of the attached documents enclosed with the EP2300 submission (including the EP2300 request itself).
Please see EP2300 – Documents for more details and example cases.
<ep-financial-data>This element will contain information regarding the fees applicable to the EP2300 request.
Attributes:
curr: Currency for fee payment. For EP2300, this should have a fixed value of “EUR”.
Please see EP2300 – Fees for details and example cases.
<ep-notes-to-EPO>Optional element that may be present if the EP2300 submission includes enclosed annotations to EPO.
See EP2300 – Annotations for more details and an example.

Below is an example showing the general structure in ep-opposition-data.xml and the top-level elements listed in the previous table:

<?xml version="1.1" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE ep-xmit-opposition-data
SYSTEM "ep-xmit-opposition-data-v1.5.dtd">
<ep-xmit-opposition-data dtd-version="1.1" lang="en" date-produced="20231122 17:23:54">
  <file-reference-id>2300_Example</file-reference-id>
  <publication-reference>
    <document-id lang="en">
      <country>EP</country>
      <doc-number>EP3062148</doc-number>
      <kind/>
      <name/>
      <date>20231101</date>
    </document-id>
  </publication-reference>
  <application-reference>
    <document-id lang="en">
      …
    </document-id>
  </application-reference>
  <gazette-reference>
    <gazette-num/>
    <date>20231101</date>
  </gazette-reference>
  <invention-title>DEVICE WITH AN ADAPTIVE CAMERA ARRAY</invention-title>
  <assignees>
    <assignee>
      <name>Proprietor of the patent</name>
    </assignee>
  </assignees>
  <ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
    …
  </ep-opposition-external-party>
  <ep-opposition-notice>
    <opposition-filed-against>
      <entire-patent/>
    </opposition-filed-against>
    <grounds-for-opposition>
      <opposition-subject-matter>
        <inventive-step-not-valid/>
      </opposition-subject-matter>
    </grounds-for-opposition>
  </ep-opposition-notice>
  <ep-electronic-files doc-type="2300E">
    <applicant-file-name/>
    <epo-file-name>ep-oppo.pdf</epo-file-name>
  </ep-electronic-files>
  <ep-electronic-files doc-type="FACTS_ARGMTS">
    <applicant-file-name>_10 (1).pdf</applicant-file-name>
    <epo-file-name>FACTS_ARGMTS.pdf</epo-file-name>
  </ep-electronic-files>
  …
  <ep-financial-data curr="EUR">
    …
  </ep-financial-data>
</ep-xmit-opposition-data>

The details for the child elements of <ep-xmit-opposition-data>, their relevant attributes and how they are mapped to the different form fields and tabs (e.g., the list of involved parties and their contact information in the <ep-opposition-external-party> element, filled out via the Parties tab in the EP2300 form) will be described in subsequent section in this form’s chapter.

Document codes and file types for EP2300​

The receiving server at the EPO requires the values listed in the table below for importing the application (leading document) and the attachments for an EP Opposition procedure.

In the package-data.xml file:

  • Document code to be filled into <document-name> child-element of <other-doc> element
  • EPO file name for file attribute of <other-doc> element

In the ep-opposition-data.xml file:

  • Document code for doc-type attribute of <ep-electronic-files> element
  • EPO file name to be filled into <epo-file-name> element

ℹ️ Note

You cannot attach a combination of both public and non-public documents to Form EP2300. If you attach non-public documents in the same form, you cannot submit a request by selecting one of the options in the Request tab or select a fee. Please use separate forms for public and non-public submissions to the EPO.

Document codeEPO file name *)Description
PACKDATAXMLpackage-data.xmlReceipt in XML format
RECXMLxmit-receipt.xmlPackage
REQUESTXMLep-opposition-data.xmlPackage
Leading Document
2300Eep-oppo.pdfNotice of opposition to a European patent
ORALLETTep-oppo.pdfSubmission in opposition proceedings made following summons to oral proceedings
OPPOLETTep-oppo.pdfSubmission in opposition proceedings
Document codeEPO file name *)Description
TIPA1ep-oppo.pdfObservations by third parties (Art. 115 EPC)
REQXMLep-opposition-data.xmlXML file of data elements

Main attachments​

FACTS_ARGMTSOPPO.pdfFacts and arguments
OBSO3OBSO3.pdfReply of the patent proprietor to the notice(s) of opposition
OPEX4OPEX4.pdfReply to the communication concerning admissibility of an opposition
OREX3OREX3.pdfReply to an examination report in opposition proceedings
DOBS3DOBS3.pdfReply from the opponent to submission of proprietor
OPPOANNEXOTHER-1.pdfAny annexes (other than citation) to an opposition letter
TDOCTDOC.pdf
TDOC-1.pdf		Observations/Citations filed by a third party

Evidence​

PATENTPublished-Evidence-1.pdfPatent document
ARTICLEPublished-Evidence-1.pdfNon-patent literature – article
BOOKPublished-Evidence-1.pdfNon-patent literature – book
DATABASEPublished-Evidence-1.pdfNon-patent literature – database
INTERNETPublished-Evidence-1.pdfNon-patent literature – internet
MODELModel-Reference-1.pdfCover letter for a non-scannable object
AFFIDAVITAffidavit-1.pdfAffidavit
IMAGEevidence-image-1.pdfImage or photo (PDF)
EVDNCE_TRANEvidence-Tran-1.pdfTranslation of a citation
EVDNCE_OTHEROther-evidence-1.pdfOther evidence

Optional additional files​

1004SPECAUTH-1.pdfSpecific authorisation
1003GENAUTH-1.pdfGeneral authorisation
2936ADVOFDELIVRY.pdfAcknowledgement
MAINREQ-OMAINREQ-1.pdfMain request in opposition
AUXREQ-OAUXREQ-1.pdfAuxiliary request in opposition
CD-FREPCD-FREP-1.pdfDocument containing information about further representatives
CDAPPR-CHOACDAPPR-CHOA-1.pdfRequest for change of address – proprietor
CDAPPR-CHONCDAPPR-CHON-1.pdfRequest for change of name – proprietor
CDAPPR-CHORCDAPPR-CHOR-1.pdfRequest for change of proprietor's representative
CDAPPR-TORCDAPPR-TOR-1.pdfRequest for transfer of rights – proprietor
CDOPPO-CHOACDOPPO-CHOA-1.pdfRequest for a change of address – opponent
CDOPPO-CHONCDOPPO-CHON-1.pdfRequest for change of name – opponent
Document codeEPO file name *)Description
CDOPPO-CHORCDOPPO-CHOR-1.pdfRequest for change of opponent's representative
CDOPPO-TORCDOPPO-TOR-1.pdfRequest for transfer of rights – opponent
CLMSCLMS-1.pdfClaims
CLMSTRAN-DECLMSTRAN-DE-1.pdfGerman translation of claims
CLMSTRAN-ENCLMSTRAN-EN-1.pdfEnglish translation of claims
CLMSTRAN-FRCLMSTRAN-FR-1.pdfFrench translation of claims
CLMS-CLEAN-R82CLMS-CLEAN-R82.pdfClean copy of amended claim(s)
DESC-CLEAN-R82DESC-CLEAN-R82.pdfClean copy of amended description
DRAW-CLEAN-R82DRAW-CLEAN-R82.pdfClean copy of amended drawing(s)
PRIOPRIO-1.pdfDocument concerning the priority claims
PRIOTRANPRIOTRAN-1.pdfTranslation of priority document
RDECRDEC-1.pdfRequest for a decision
REESREES-1.pdfRequest for re-establishment of rights
REESGROUNDSREESGROUNDS-1.pdfGrounds for re-establishment of rights
TIMEEXTREQTIMEEXTREQ.pdfSubstantiation of the request for time extension

Non-public documents​

ANNEX-NPANNEX-NP-1.pdfNon-public annex
FICOFICO-1.pdfRequest for certified copies of the application
FISPFISP-1.pdfRequest for inspection of the file
MEDAMEDA-1.pdfMedical certificate
ADVOFDELIVRYADVOFDELIVRY-1.pdfAdvice of delivery
FEESHEETINTfeesheetint.pdfAnnex
FEESHEETPDFFees.pdfDocument concerning the payment of fees
OTHERPDFOTHER-1.pdfAnnex
RECPDFreceipt.pdf(Electronic) Receipt
OLF-ARCHIVEOLF-ARCHIVE.zipPreconversion OLF archive

Graphic files​

OTHERTIF<filename>.tifOther
SIGNIMGTIF<Request>-signature-1.tifUnexpected/undefined document
SIGNIMGJPG<Request>-signature-1.jpgUnexpected/undefined document

*) If there is more than one file of this type of document, the character 1 in the file names must be replaced by 2, 3 etc.

EP2300 – General information​

Both the basic data on the patent opposed and the scope/grounds of the opposition request is entered in the General information tab.

The data concerning the references to the opposed application/patent is structured in the following top-level elements under <ep-xmit-opposition-data> in ep-opposition-data.xml as follows:

  • The user’s file reference is imported from the <file-reference-id> element. E.g.:
<file-reference-id>2300_Example</file-reference-id>
  • The referred patent and application’s information is imported from the contents of XML elements <publication-reference> and <application-reference> (respectively). Each of these sections consists of a single <document-id> XML element containing a single attribute lang indicating the application’s procedural language with a 2-letter code (i.e., “en”, “de”, “fr”) and the following set of sub-elements:
    • <country>: Country/region code of the application/patent. For EP2300 filings, this should always be “EP”.
    • <doc-number>: ID number of the referred EP patent/application.
    • <date>: Date of mention of the grant. Should be the same for both <publication-reference> and <application-reference>.
    • Additional sub-elements may be present (i.e., <kind> and <name>), although their values are not required for EP2300 submissions and thus can be left empty (since their values will be ignored).
    • Example:
<publication-reference>
  <document-id lang="en">
    <country>EP</country>
    <doc-number>EP3062148</doc-number>
    <kind/>
    <name/>
    <date>20231101</date>
  </document-id>
</publication-reference>
<application-reference>
  <document-id lang="en">
    <country>EP</country>
    <doc-number>EP16155428.2</doc-number>
    <kind/>
    <name/>
    <date>20231101</date>
  </document-id>
</application-reference>
  • Following <application-reference>, section <gazette-reference> should be present with the structure shown in the example below, providing the date of mention of grant (if included in the submission) in the same way as done in the previously described reference elements:
<gazette-reference>
  <gazette-num/>
  <date>20231101</date>
</gazette-reference>
  • The name of the invention corresponding to the opposed patent is imported from the value of XML element <invention-title>. E.g.:
<invention-title>DEVICE WITH AN ADAPTIVE CAMERA ARRAY</invention-title>
  • The name of the proprietor of the opposed patent is imported from the contents of the <assignees> element, which should be present with the structure shown in the example below:
<assignees>
  <assignee>
    <name>Salvatore Manzoni</name>
  </assignee>
</assignees>

The data regarding the scope and grounds of the opposition procedure is imported from the contents of XML element <ep-opposition-notice>. The table below lists the required sub-elements in <document-id> and their expected values/formats:

XML ElementDescription and sub-elements
<opposition-filed-against>Provides the scope of the opposition request. It contains a single child element, which will be different depending on the applicable option from the list below:
Opposition filed against the patent as a whole: indicated by an empty <entire-patent/> sub-element.
Opposition filed against specific claims: indicated by a <claim-num> sub-element containing the number(s) of the opposed claims. E.g.: <claim-num>1, 3</claim-num>
<grounds-for-opposition>Provides the data corresponding to the grounds of the opposition request. This element can contain one or more child elements depending on the applicable option(s) from the list below:
The subject-matter of the patent opposed is not patentable (Art. 100(a) EPC). This is indicated by the presence of XML element <opposition-subject-matter>, containing in turn one or more of the following sub-elements depending on the reason(s):
<novelty-not-valid/>: Empty element indicating that the patent is not new (Articles 52(1), 54 EPC).
<inventive-step-not-valid/>: Empty element indicating that the patent does not involve an inventive step (Articles 52(1), 56 EPC).
<not-valid-other-grounds>: Element indicating that patentability is excluded on other grounds. This element must include a <article-num> child element providing the number(s) of the cited EPC article(s).
The patent opposed does not disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete (Art. 100(b) EPC, Art .83 EPC). Indicated by an empty <opposition-clarity/> element.
The subject-matter of the patent opposed extends beyond the content of the application (Art. 100(c) EPC, Art.123(2) EPC). Indicated by an empty <opposition-subject-matter-extension/> element.
Below is an example of element <grounds-for-opposition> corresponding to an opposition filed on all the aforementioned grounds:
<grounds-for-opposition>
<opposition-subject-matter>
<novelty-not-valid/>
<inventive-step-not-valid/>
<not-valid-other-grounds>
<article-num>52(1)</article-num>
</not-valid-other-grounds>
</opposition-subject-matter>
<opposition-clarity/>
<opposition-subject-matter-extension/>
</grounds-for-opposition>
<ep-submission-requests>This element is optional and may be present if the EP2300 submission is to include any requests related to the opposition process (corresponding to the options available in the Requests tab of the form, e.g., “Request for taking of evidence by hearing of a witness”). Otherwise, this element can be omitted.
Please see EP2300 – Requests in this guide for more details.

ℹ️ Note

Note that XML element <grounds-for-opposition> is mandatory and must be present in ep-opposition-data.xml before the EP2300 submission can be imported.

Below is a basic example showing the elements listed above populated with the data filled out in the General information tab for an EP2300 form:

<?xml version="1.1" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE ep-xmit-opposition-data
SYSTEM "ep-xmit-opposition-data-v1.5.dtd">
<ep-xmit-opposition-data dtd-version="1.1" lang="en" date-produced="20231122 17:23:54">
  <file-reference-id>2300_Example</file-reference-id>
  <publication-reference>
    <document-id lang="en">
      <country>EP</country>
      <doc-number>EP3062148</doc-number>
      <kind/>
      <name/>
      <date>20231101</date>
    </document-id>
  </publication-reference>
  <application-reference>
    <document-id lang="en">
      <country>EP</country>
      <doc-number>EP16155428.2</doc-number>
      <kind/>
      <name/>
      <date>20231101</date>
    </document-id>
  </application-reference>
  <gazette-reference>
    <gazette-num/>
    <date>20231101</date>
  </gazette-reference>
  <invention-title>DEVICE WITH AN ADAPTIVE CAMERA ARRAY</invention-title>
  <assignees>
    <assignee>
      <name>Proprietor of the patent</name>
    </assignee>
  </assignees>
  <ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
    …
  </ep-opposition-external-party>
  <ep-opposition-notice>
    <opposition-filed-against>
      <entire-patent/>
    </opposition-filed-against>
    <grounds-for-opposition>
      <opposition-subject-matter>
        <inventive-step-not-valid/>
      </opposition-subject-matter>
    </grounds-for-opposition>
  </ep-opposition-notice>
  …
</ep-xmit-opposition-data>

Example: Notice of opposition or intervention​

The example shows the grounds for the notice of opposition issued by the opponents. An extra example illustrates the opposition filed against specific claims of the patent, issued by an intervener.

XML ep-opposition-data.xml, opposition filed against the patent as a whole

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
<ep-opposition-notice>
  <opposition-filed-against>
    <entire-patent/>
  </opposition-filed-against>
  <grounds-for-opposition>
    <opposition-subject-matter>
      <novelty-not-valid/>
      <inventive-step-not-valid/>
      <not-valid-other-grounds>
        <article-num>53(c)</article-num>
      </not-valid-other-grounds>
    </opposition-subject-matter>
    <opposition-clarity/>
    <opposition-subject-matter-extension/>
  </grounds-for-opposition>
  <ep-submission-requests>
  ...
</ep-opposition-notice>

Opposition filed against specific claims

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="intervener">
<ep-opposition-notice>
  <opposition-filed-against>
    <claim-num>12,13,14,15</claim-num>
  </opposition-filed-against>
  <grounds-for-opposition>
  <ep-submission-requests>
</ep-opposition-notice>

EP2300 – Parties​

The Parties tab of Form EP2300 accommodates all data for names, persons and addresses relating to the submission:

  • Opponents
  • Interveners
  • Representatives
  • Witnesses

An EP2300 form submission must identify at least either one opponent or one intervener. Note however that opponents and interveners are mutually exclusive, depending on the role of the party filing the EP2300 submission.

The role of the identified party (opponent/intervener) is imported from attribute external-party-role in XML element <ep-opposition-external-party> in the ep-opposition-data.xml file, which can take value "opponent" or “intervener”.

Unlike other forms in OLF2.0 such as EP1001 where the information for all parties is contained in the same top-level element (named <parties>), the data regarding parties for EP2300 is split into different sections in the ep-opposition-data.xml.xml file depending on the type:

  • The data for both opponents/interveners and representatives is contained in the <ep-opposition-external-party> element, separated as follows:
    • Sub-section <ep-external-party-participants> holds the data for the opponents/interveners, each one represented by an individual <ep-opposition-external-party> child element.
    • Sub-section <ep-agents> holds the data for the representatives, each one be represented by an individual <ep-agent> child element.
  • The data on the witnesses, however, is contained in the <ep-opposition-notice> element, which can include one or more <opposition-expert-witness> child elements (one per named witness).

Below is a simplified excerpt from ep-opposition-data.xml which shows the general structure for the party data in a EP2300 submission that includes an opponent, a representative and a witness, each one referred in their respective XML parent element as previously described:

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
  <ep-external-party-participants>
    <ep-external-party-participant sequence="1">
      …
    </ep-external-party-participant>
    …
  </ep-external-party-participants>
  <ep-agents>
    <ep-agent rep-type="agent" sequence="1">
      …
    </ep-agent>
  </ep-agents>
</ep-opposition-external-party>
<ep-opposition-notice>
  <opposition-expert-witness>
    …
  </opposition-expert-witness>
</ep-opposition-notice>
…

The specific structure and format for each type of party will be covered in detail in the subsequent chapters.

Opponents/Interveners​

Information regarding identified opponents/interveners is imported from the <ep-opposition-external-party> element in the ep-opposition-data.xml file. This element must contain:

  • Attribute external-party-role with a fixed value of "opponent" or “intervener”, depending on the applicable role.
  • A single <ep-external-party-participants> child element containing the list of opponents/interveners (as described in detail after the basic example provided below).
<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
  <ep-external-party-participants>
    <ep-external-party-participant sequence="1">
      …
    </ep-external-party-participant>
    …
  </ep-external-party-participants>
</ep-opposition-external-party>

Inside <ep-external-party-participants>, a <ep-external-party-participant> element must appear per each named opponent/intervener, containing:

  • A sequence attribute indicating the number of the party in the list of identified opponents/interveners (“1” for the first, “2” for the second and so on).
  • A single <addressbook> sub-element with the name and address details. This element should always be present (required).
  • If a specific country of nationality is to be specified, a <nationality> sub-element should also be present. This will contain a single <country> child element with the 2-letter country code (e.g.: “IT” for Italy).
  • Similarly, if a specific country of residence is to be specified, a <residence> sub-element should also be present, with the same internal structure as the above.

The example below shows the basic structure for the <ep-opposition-external-party> section in a request that only includes a single opponent specifying Italy (IT) as both their nationality and residence country:

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
  <ep-external-party-participants>
    <ep-external-party-participant sequence="1">
    <addressbook lang="en">
      …
    </addressbook>
    <nationality>
      <country>IT</country>
    </nationality>
    <residence>
      <country>IT</country>
    </residence>
  </applicant>
  </ep-external-party-participants>
</ep-opposition-external-party>

The <addressbook> element with the name and address detail for each party will have the following single attribute:

  • lang: 2-letter language code. This must match the procedural language for the attached/referred application. E.g.: <addressbook lang="en">

The structure of the <addressbook> element is specific to the person type (e.g., legal or natural) of the opponent/intervener:

Party typeXML Elements in <addressbook>
Opponent, legal person
Intervener, legal person		<name name-type="legal">
<registered-number/>
<address>
<address-2>
<pobox>
<street>
<city>
<state>
<postcode>
<country>
</address>
<phone>
<email>
Opponent, natural person
Intervener, natural person		<last-name>
<first-name>
<orgname>
<department>
<address>
<pobox>
<street>
<city>
<state>
<postcode>
<country>
</address>
<phone>
<email>

Below is an example showing the general structure of a <ep-opposition-external-party> element in ep-opposition-data.xml containing two <ep-external-party-participant> entries for two interveners: a natural person and a legal one:

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="intervener">
  <ep-external-party-participants>
    <ep-external-party-participant sequence="1">
      <addressbook lang="en">
        <last-name>Manzoni</last-name>
        <first-name>Salvatore</first-name>
        <orgname>Borghese S.A.</orgname>
        <department>Invenzioni</department>
        <address>
          <pobox/>
          <street>Via Roma 8 / Piazza del Duomo</street>
          <city>Milano</city>
          <state/>
          <postcode>20100</postcode>
          <country>IT</country>
        </address>
        <phone>+39 2 5056 10</phone>
        <email>[email protected]</email>
      </addressbook>
      <nationality>
        <country>IT</country>
      </nationality>
      <residence>
        <country>IT</country>
      </residence>
  </ep-external-party-participants>
  <ep-external-party-participant sequence="2">
  <addressbook lang="en">
    <name name-type="legal">Legal Intervener’s Name</name>
    <address>
      <pobox/>
      <street>Via Roma 8 / Piazza del Duomo</street>
      <city>Milano</city>
      <state/>
      <postcode>20100</postcode>
      <country>IT</country>
    </address>
    <phone>+39 2 5056 10</phone>
    <email>[email protected]</email>
  </addressbook>
</ep-external-party-participant>
</ep-external-party-participants>
</ep-opposition-external-party>

Representatives​

Information regarding identified representatives is imported from the <ep-opposition-external-party> element in the ep-opposition-data.xml file. In addition to the attributes and elements previously described for Opponents/Interveners, this element may also contain a single <ep-agents> child element containing the list of representatives:

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
  <ep-external-party-participants>
    …
  </ep-external-party-participants>
  <ep-agents>
    <ep-agent sequence="1">
      …
    </ep-agent>
    …
  </ep-agents>
</ep-opposition-external-party>

Inside <ep-agents>, a <ep-agent> element must appear per each named opponent/intervener, containing:

  • A rep-type attribute indicating the specific type of representative number with one of the following possible values:
    • “common-representative”: association.
    • “agent”: individual.
    • “attorney”: legal practitioners.
  • A sequence attribute indicating the number of the party in the list of identified representatives (“1” for the first representative in the list, “2” for the second and so on).
  • If the representative is of type “Association” (rep-type=“common-representative”), an ep-association-number attribute must be present indicating the association’s registration number with EPO.
  • A single <addressbook> sub-element with the name and address details. This element should always be present (required).
  • If the representative is providing a general authorisation, an additional <ep-authorisation> sub-element should also be present. This will either be an empty element (if the authorisation is attached to the submission) or an element containing a single <ep-authorisation-number> child element providing the authorisation number, if said authorisation has already been registered by the EPO. E.g.:
<ep-authorisations>
  <ep-authorisation-number>12345</ep-authorisation-number>
</ep-authorisations>

The example below shows the basic structure for the <ep-agents> section in a request that only includes a single representative of type “Individual” with a general authorisation referring to an already registered authorisation:

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
  <ep-agents>
    <ep-agent rep-type="agent" sequence="1">
      <addressbook lang="en">
        …
      </addressbook>
      <ep-authorisations>
        <ep-authorisation-number>12345</ep-authorisation-number>
      </ep-authorisations>
    </ep-agent>
  </ep-agents>
</ep-opposition-external-party>

The <addressbook> element with the name and address detail for each party will have the following single attribute:

  • lang: 2-letter language code. This must match the procedural language for the attached/referred application. E.g.: <addressbook lang="en">

The structure of the <addressbook> element is specific to the person type (e.g., legal or natural) of the opponent/intervener:

Party typeXML Elements in <addressbook>
Professional representative, association<last-name> (*)
<department>
<registered-number>
<address>
<pobox>
<street>
<city>
<state>
<postcode>
<country>
</address>
<phone>
<email>
Professional representative, individual
Legal practicioner		<last-name>
<first-name>
<orgname>
<department>
<address>
<pobox>
<street>
<city>
<state>
<postcode>
<country>
</address>
<phone>
<email>

ℹ️ Note

(*) For representatives of sub-type association (i.e., with attribute rep-type=“common-representative”), the value of the <last-name> element corresponds to the Organisation name of the association acting as representative.

Below is an example showing the general structure of a <ep-agents> element in ep-opposition-data.xml containing a <ep-agent> entry for a representative of type association with a general authorisation referred by no.:

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
  <ep-external-party-participants>
    …
  </ep-external-party-participants>
  <ep-agents>
    <ep-agent rep-type="common-representative" sequence="1">
      <addressbook lang="en">
        <last-name>IP Partners</last-name>
        <first-name/>
        <orgname>European Patents</orgname>
        <registered-number>0.0</registered-number>
        <address>
          <pobox>5088</pobox>
          <street>Cambridge Science Park
          100 Red Lion Square</street>
          <city>Cambridge</city>
          <state>Cambridgeshire</state>
          <postcode>CB2 1AB</postcode>
          <country>GB</country>
        </address>
        <phone>+44 1223 3516-0</phone>
        <email>[email protected]</email>
      </addressbook>
      <ep-authorisations>
        <ep-authorisation-number>12345</ep-authorisation-number>
      </ep-authorisations>
    </ep-agent>
  </ep-agents>
</ep-opposition-external-party>

Witnesses​

Information for named witnesses is imported from the <ep-opposition-notice> element, which can include one or more <opposition-expert-witness> child elements (one per named witness):

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
  …
</ep-opposition-external-party>
<ep-opposition-notice>
  <opposition-expert-witness>
    …
  </opposition-expert-witness>
</ep-opposition-notice>
…

Each <opposition-expert-witness> child element in <ep-opposition-notice> must contain a single <addressbook> sub-element with the name and address details. This <addressbook> element will have the following single attribute:

  • lang: 2-letter language code. This must match the procedural language for the attached/referred application. E.g.: <addressbook lang="en">

The <addressbook> element should contain the following child elements:

Party typeXML Elements in <addressbook>
Witness, natural person<last-name>
<first-name>
<orgname>
<department>
<address>
<pobox>
<street>
<city>
<state>
<postcode>
<country>
</address>
<phone>
<email>

Below is an example showing the general structure of a <ep-opposition-external-party> element in ep-opposition-data.xml containing two <ep-external-party-participant> entries for two interveners: a natural person and a legal one:

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
  …
</ep-opposition-external-party>
<ep-opposition-notice>
  <opposition-expert-witness>
    <addressbook lang="en">
      <last-name>Manzoni</last-name>
      <first-name>Salvatore</first-name>
      <orgname>Borghese S.A.</orgname>
      <department>Invenzioni</department>
      <address>
        <pobox/>
        <street>Via Roma 8 / Piazza del Duomo</street>
        <city>Milano</city>
        <state/>
        <postcode>20100</postcode>
        <country>IT</country>
      </address>
      <phone>+39 2 5056 10</phone>
      <email>[email protected]</email>
    </addressbook>
  </opposition-expert-witness>
</ep-opposition-notice>

Example: Opposition by multiple opponents, first-named opponent represented by employee, separate address for correspondence​

The example shows the data for three opponents, the first opponent being a legal person and represented by an employee. In addition, there is a separate address for correspondence connected with the first-named opponent.

XML ep-opposition-data.xml, multiple opponents

<assignees>
<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
  <ep-external-party-participants>
    <ep-external-party-participant sequence="1">
      <addressbook lang="en">
        <name name-type="legal">Micro York</name>
        <registered-number/>
        <address>
          <address-2>Patents</address-2>
          <pobox/>
          <street>38, Fullerton St.</street>
          <city>York</city>
          <state>Yorkshire</state>
          <postcode>YO1 9QN</postcode>
          <country>GB</country>
        </address>
        <phone>+44 1904 660345</phone>
        <email>[email protected]</email>
      </addressbook>
      <nationality>
      <residence>
        <country>GB</country>
      </residence>
    </ep-external-party-participant>
    <ep-external-party-participant sequence="2">
    <ep-external-party-participant sequence="3">
  </ep-external-party-participants>
  <correspondence-address>
  <ep-agents>
    <ep-agent rep-type="employee" sequence="1">
      <addressbook lang="en">
        <prefix/>
        <last-name>Scott</last-name>
        <first-name>Jessica</first-name>
        <address>
          <postcode/>
          <country/>
        </address>
      </addressbook>
      <ep-authorisations>
        <ep-authorisation-number>13.90876</ep-authorisation-number>
      </ep-authorisations>
    </ep-agent>
  </ep-agents>
</ep-opposition-external-party>
</ep-opposition-notice>

[...]

<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
<ep-external-party-participants>
  <ep-external-party-participant sequence="1">
  <ep-external-party-participant sequence="2">
  <ep-external-party-participant sequence="3">
</ep-external-party-participants>
<correspondence-address>
  <addressbook lang="en">
    <name>Micro York</name>
    <address>
      <pobox>8900</pobox>
      <street>5, Forest Road</street>
      <city>York</city>
      <state>Yorkshire</state>
      <postcode>YO2 9QT</postcode>
      <country>GB</country>
    </address>
  </addressbook>
</correspondence-address>
<ep-agents>

EP2300 – Requests​

The options available in the Requests tab of form EP2300 allows users to, optionally, file for one or more of the following additional requests related to the opposition process in the submission:

  • Oral proceedings:
    • Request for oral proceedings
    • Request for interpreting
  • Other requests:
    • Request for taking of evidence by hearing of a witness
    • Request for accelerated processing of opposition
    • Other request(s)

The information regarding requests in EP2300 is imported from XML element <ep-opposition-notice> in ep-opposition-data.xml, specifically from its child element <ep-submission-requests> (if present). The latter may contain one or more <ep-submission-request> elements corresponding to each of the admissible request types as described in the table below:

Request type<ep-submission-request> Attributes<ep-submission-request> Child elements
Request for oral proceedingsrequest-type="oral-proceedings"
When requesting an auxiliary oral proceeding as well, the following attribute must also be present:
auxiliary-request="yes"		N/A
Request for interpretingrequest-type="interpretation-oral-proceedings"Must contain a <interpretation-oral-proceedings> element specifying the language in which the OP will be carried out (listening) and the language to be spoken by the interpreter (speaking). E.g.:
<interpretation-oral-proceedings lang-speaking="fr" lang-listening="en"/>
Request for taking of evidence by hearing of a witnessrequest-type="hearing-of-witness"N/A
Request for accelerated processing of oppositionrequest-type="acceleration-proceedings"Must contain a <ep-submission-request-comment> element with a <p> free text providing the reason for the request for accelerated processing. E.g.:
<ep-submission-request-comment>
<p num="0001">Pending infringement proceedings in a national court.</p>
</ep-submission-request-comment>
Other request(s)request-type="other"Must contain a <ep-submission-request-comment> element with a <p> free text providing the request being made. E.g.:
<ep-submission-request-comment>
<p num="0001">We request access for file inspection.</p>
</ep-submission-request-comment>

ℹ️ Note

A request for the taking of evidence by the hearing of a witness must always be indicated if one or more witnesses have been nominated in the Parties tab.

The following snippet shows a basic example of element <ep-opposition-notice>, corresponding to an EP2300 submission that includes a <ep-submission-requests> section containing an individual request per each of the 5 request types previously listed:

<ep-opposition-notice>
  …
  <ep-submission-requests>
    <ep-submission-request request-type="oral-proceedings" auxiliary-request="yes"/>
    <ep-submission-request request-type="interpretation-oral-proceedings">
      <interpretation-oral-proceedings lang-speaking="fr" lang-listening="en"/>
    </ep-submission-request>
    <ep-submission-request request-type="hearing-of-witness"/>
    <ep-submission-request request-type="acceleration-proceedings">
      <ep-submission-request-comment>
        <p num="0001">Reason for accelerated processing</p>
      </ep-submission-request-comment>
    </ep-submission-request>
    <ep-submission-request request-type="other">
      <ep-submission-request-comment>
        <p num="0001">Other request</p>
      </ep-submission-request-comment>
    </ep-submission-request>
  </ep-submission-requests>
</ep-opposition-notice>

The following example illustrates most of the possible combinations.

Example: Opponents request for oral proceedings​

In addition, this example shows the filing of more requests by the opponents: request for oral proceedings with “auxiliary” option, request for interpreting, request for accelerated processing and another individual request.

<ep-submission-requests>
  <ep-submission-request request-type="oral-proceedings" auxiliary-request="yes"/>
  <ep-submission-request request-type="interpretation-oral-proceedings">
    <interpretation-oral-proceedings lang-speaking="fr" lang-listening="fr"/>
  </ep-submission-request>
  <ep-submission-request request-type="hearing-of-witness"/>
  <ep-submission-request request-type="acceleration-proceedings">
    <ep-submission-request-comment>
      <p num="0001">Pending infringement proceedings in a national court</p>
    </ep-submission-request-comment>
  </ep-submission-request>
  <ep-submission-request request-type="other">
    <ep-submission-request-comment>
      <p num="0001">We request access for file inspection.</p>
    </ep-submission-request-comment>
  </ep-submission-request>
</ep-submission-requests>

EP2300 – Documents​

Various documents may be attached to the EP2300 form in the Documents tab. As a basic principle, the choices depend on the kind of communication selected (notice of opposition or intervention) and the persons listed. See the complete list in chapter: Document codes and file types for EP2300

Please note that certain documents may not be attached at the same time (i.e., they are mutually exclusive). In general, only PDF documents are allowed.

Documents for EP2300 submissions are grouped into the following two main categories (as presented in the Documents tab on the OLF2.0 GUI):

  • Evidences: refers to published articles/books/etc. that are cited as evidences supporting the request for opposition.
  • Other documents: refers to any other attached documents that are not supplied as evidences, including the mandatory Facts and Arguments document for opposition.

ℹ️ Note

Any EP2300 submission must provide, at the very least, an attached copy of the Facts and Arguments document (FACTS_ARGMTS) from the aforementioned “Other documents” category.

In addition to the PDF/XML documents for the EP2300 request itself (2300E and REQXML), an <other-doc> entry must be included in section <other-documents> in package-data.xml for each individually attached document, as explained in 5.1.1 References from XML files to other files. See the example snippet below from an package-data.xml file corresponding to a EP2300 submission including the mandatory facts and arguments document (of category “Other documents”) and multiple “Evidence” documents: affidavit, published patent and published article:

<other-documents>
  <other-doc file="ep-oppo.pdf" file-type="pdf">
    <document-name>2300E</document-name>
    <dtext/>
  </other-doc>
  <other-doc file="ep-opposition-data.xml" file-type="xml">
    <document-name>REQXML</document-name>
    <dtext/>
  </other-doc>
  <other-doc file="FACTS_ARGMTS.pdf" file-type="pdf">
    <document-name>FACTS_ARGMTS</document-name>
    <dtext/>
  </other-doc>
  <other-doc file="Affidavit-1.pdf" file-type="pdf">
    <document-name>AFFIDAVIT</document-name>
    <dtext/>
  </other-doc>
  <other-doc file="Published-Evidence-Patent-1.pdf" file-type="pdf">
    <document-name>PATENT</document-name>
    <dtext/>
  </other-doc>
  <other-doc file="Published-Evidence-Article-1.pdf" file-type="pdf">
    <document-name>ARTICLE</document-name>
    <dtext/>
  </other-doc>
</other-documents>

Evidences​

Details for each attached evidence document must be provided through a <ep-opposition-evidence> element in ep-opposition-data.xml. The internal structure of this element will be different depending on the type of evidence provided, as described below.

Published evidences:

  • Article
  • Book extract
  • Database
  • Internet publication
  • Patent

It is important to provide accurate data for the evidences, following the system also used for scientific bibliographies. The number of evidences is unlimited. Each evidence, <patcit> for patent literature or <nplcit> for non-patent literature, is enclosed in an <ep-opposition-evidence> element and is numbered consecutively.

The details for evidence documents corresponding to any of the types listed above must be provided in a child element <nplcit> inside <ep-opposition-evidence>, with the exception of “Patent”, which uses a <patcit> child element instead. Both the <nplcit> and <patcit> elements must include the following XML attributes:

  • num: attribute with blank value “” (unused).
  • file: indicates the EPO standard file name corresponding to the attached document’s type (see the table below).

The table below describes the structure of the <ep-opposition-evidence> element for each type of published evidence document that can be attached in a EP2300 submission. Note that elements highlighted in yellow represent required fields that must always contain a value:

Evidence typeEPO file name (*)<ep-opposition-evidence> XML Structure Example
ArticlePublished-Evidence-Article-1.pdf&lt;nplcit num="" file="Published-Evidence-Article-1.pdf"&gt;
&lt;article&gt;
&lt;author&gt;
&lt;last-name&gt;Smith&lt;/last-name&gt;
&lt;first-name&gt;John&lt;/first-name&gt;
&lt;/author&gt;
&lt;atl/&gt;
&lt;serial&gt;
&lt;sertitle&gt;Name of periodical, magazine, journal&lt;/sertitle&gt;
&lt;pubdate&gt;20220315&lt;/pubdate&gt; (***)
&lt;vid&gt;Volume number&lt;/vid&gt;
&lt;issn&gt;ISBN 978-0-545-01022-1&lt;/issn&gt;
&lt;/serial&gt;
&lt;artid&gt;Article number&lt;/artid&gt;
&lt;/article&gt;
&lt;rel-passage&gt;
&lt;text/&gt;Passage of particular relevance (page, column, line, fig.)&lt;/text&gt;
&lt;/rel-passage&gt;
&lt;/nplcit&gt;
Book extractPublished-Evidence-Book-1.pdf&lt;nplcit num="" file="Published-Evidence-Book-1.pdf"&gt;
&lt;book&gt;
&lt;author&gt;
()
&lt;/author&gt;
&lt;book-title&gt;Evidence Book Title&lt;/book-title&gt;
&lt;edition/&gt;
&lt;imprint&gt;
&lt;address&gt;
&lt;text&gt; Place of publication&lt;/text&gt;
&lt;/address&gt;
&lt;name&gt;Publisher name&lt;/name&gt;
&lt;pubdate&gt;20220315&lt;/pubdate&gt; (*)
&lt;/imprint&gt;
&lt;isbn&gt;ISBN 978-0-545-01022-1&lt;/isbn&gt;
&lt;/book&gt;
&lt;rel-passage&gt;
&lt;text/&gt;Passage of particular relevance (page, column, line, fig.)&lt;/text&gt;
&lt;/rel-passage&gt;
&lt;/nplcit&gt;
DatabasePublished-Evidence-Database-1.pdf&lt;nplcit num="" file="Published-Evidence-Database-1.pdf"&gt;
&lt;online&gt;
&lt;author&gt;
(**)
&lt;/author&gt;
&lt;online-title&gt;Title of database&lt;/online-title&gt;
&lt;hosttitle&gt;Host/database name&lt;/hosttitle&gt;
&lt;pubdate&gt;20220315&lt;/pubdate&gt;
&lt;hostno&gt;Host/DB accession number&lt;/hostno&gt;
&lt;absno&gt;Abst/Accession No.&lt;/absno&gt;
&lt;avail/&gt;Owner/service/URL&lt;/avail&gt;
&lt;srchdate&gt;
&lt;date/&gt;20201012&lt;/date&gt;
&lt;/srchdate&gt;
&lt;/online&gt;
&lt;/nplcit&gt;
Internet publicationPublished-Evidence-Internet-1.pdf&lt;nplcit num="" file="Published-Evidence-Internet-1.pdf"&gt;
&lt;online&gt;
&lt;author&gt;
&lt;last-name&gt;Smith&lt;/last-name&gt;
&lt;first-name&gt;John&lt;/first-name&gt;
&lt;/author&gt;
&lt;online-title&gt;Publication Title&lt;/online-title&gt;
&lt;pubdate&gt;20220315&lt;/pubdate&gt;
&lt;avail&gt;https://url-of-publication.com`&lt;/avail&gt;`
&lt;datecit&gt;
&lt;date&gt;20220315&lt;/date&gt;
&lt;/datecit&gt;
&lt;/online&gt;
&lt;rel-passage&gt;
&lt;text&gt;Passage of particular relevance (page, column, line, fig.)&lt;/text&gt;
&lt;/rel-passage&gt;
&lt;/nplcit&gt;
PatentPublished-Evidence-Patent-1.pdf&lt;patcit num="" file="Published-Evidence-Patent-1.pdf"&gt;
&lt;document-id lang="en"&gt;
&lt;country&gt;EP&lt;/country&gt;
&lt;doc-number&gt;EP20202020.2&lt;/doc-number&gt;
&lt;kind&gt;A&lt;/kind&gt;
&lt;date&gt;20220315&lt;/date&gt;
&lt;/document-id&gt;
&lt;rel-passage&gt;
&lt;text&gt;Passage of particular relevance (page, column, line, fig.)&lt;/text&gt;
&lt;/rel-passage&gt;
&lt;/patcit&gt;

(*) If there is more than one file of this type of document, the character 1 in the file names must be replaced by 2, 3 etc.

(**) The element <author>, corresponding to the name of the author of the publication, can refer to either a legal person (i.e., company name) or a natural person’s first and last name, which must be indicated as shown in the examples below:

Author as company nameAuthor as natural person
<author>
<orgname>Company Inc.</orgname>
</author>		<author>
<last-name>Smith</last-name>
<first-name>John</first-name>
</author>

(***) In the case of books and articles, the element <pubdate>, corresponding to the publication date of a published evidence (e.g., book), can be supplied as a full date in YYYYmmDD format (e.g.: 20220315), a year and a month (YYYYmm, e.g.: 202401) or just a year (YYYY, e.g.: 2024).

Other evidence files:

The options for attaching files under Evidence - other are the same for all categories of persons and communication:

  • Affidavit
  • Image or photo (PDF)
  • Model reference
  • Other evidence
  • Translation of evidence

For any of the above, an <opposition-evidence-other-file> child element should appear inside the corresponding <ep-opposition-evidence> element. The aforementioned must include a single <doc-page> XML element with the following attributes:

  • file: indicates the EPO standard file name corresponding to the attached document’s type (see the table below).
  • wi: attribute with blank value “” (unused).
  • he: attribute with blank value “” (unused).
  • Type: type of attached file (should always be “pdf”).

The example below illustrates the structure of an <ep-opposition-evidence> element in ep-opposition-data.xml referencing an attached affidavit evidence document:

<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="A01">
  <opposition-evidence-other-file>
    <doc-page file="Affidavit-1.pdf" wi="" he="" type="pdf"/>
  </opposition-evidence-other-file>
</ep-opposition-evidence>

Please see Example: Evidences of other types for a more comprehensive example containing multiple types of evidence documents named in this category.

Content in colour:

If you wish to indicate that any of the pieces of evidence contain content in colour (i.e., content that is not black and white), this must be done via free text inserted in an annotation to EPO. Please see section EP2300 – Annotations in this guide for further details regarding the XML structure to be used.

Example: Evidence – Published patent​

XML ep-opposition-data.xml, data for patent publication

<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="B04">
  <patcit num="1" file="Published-Evidence-1.pdf">
    <document-id lang="en">
      <country>DE</country>
      <doc-number>DE 1070040</doc-number>
      <kind>C2</kind>
      <date>20090729</date>
    </document-id>
    <rel-passage>
      <text>page 4, lines 18-29</text>
    </rel-passage>
  </patcit>
</ep-opposition-evidence>

Example: Evidence – Published article​

XML ep-opposition-data.xml, data for article publication

<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="B01">
  <nplcit num="2" file="Published-Evidence-2.pdf">
    <article>
      <author>
        <last-name>Foster</last-name>
        <first-name>Joseph</first-name>
        <suffix>et al.</suffix>
      </author>
      <atl>Process of humidification of surfaces using powdered water</atl>
      <serial>
        <sertitle>Nanotechnology - Progress in surface treatments</sertitle>
        <pubdate>20080819</pubdate>
        <vid>3</vid>
        <issn>977-3-1234-5678-3</issn>
      </serial>
      <artid>15</artid>
    </article>
    <rel-passage>
      <text>page 35, fig. 5</text>
    </rel-passage>
  </nplcit>
</ep-opposition-evidence>

Example: Evidence – Published books​

XML ep-opposition-data.xml, data for book publication

<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="B06">
  <nplcit num="3" file="Published-Evidence-3.pdf">
    <book>
      <author>
        <last-name>Kensington</last-name>
        <first-name>Harold</first-name>
      </author>
      <book-title>Best Practices of Modern Surface Coating Technology</book-title>
      <edition>3rd</edition>
      <imprint>
        <address>
          <text>Singapore</text>
        </address>
        <name>Blackwater House Publishers</name>
        <pubdate>2009</pubdate>
      </imprint>
      <isbn>978-2-4321-8765-3</isbn>
    </book>
    <rel-passage>
      <text>pages 345-356</text>
    </rel-passage>
  </nplcit>
</ep-opposition-evidence>

Example: Evidence – Published database​

XML ep-opposition-data.xml, data for database publication

<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="B07">
  <nplcit num="4" file="Published-Evidence-4.pdf">
    <online>
      <author>
        <orgname>Institute of Polymer Research</orgname>
      </author>
      <online-title>Research Database of the Institute of Polymer Research</online-title>
      <hostitle>Polymer Database</hostitle>
      <pubdate>20091029</pubdate>
      <hostno>2345.9090</hostno>
      <absno>345</absno>
      <avail>http://www.polymer.org/research/database.php</avail>
      <scrhdate>
        <date>20100504</date>
      </scrhdate>
    </online>
  </nplcit>
</ep-opposition-evidence>

Example: Evidence – Online publication (internet)​

XML ep-opposition-data.xml, data for Internet publication

<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="B02">
  <nplcit num="5" file="Published-Evidence-5.pdf">
    <online>
      <author>
        <last-name>Foster</last-name>
        <first-name>Joseph</first-name>
      </author>
      <online-title>World of molecules - Novelty water powder successfully tested for surface coating</online-title>
      <pubdate>20090901</pubdate>
      <avail>www.nanotechnology.info/publish/articles/091123WaterPowder.html</avail>
      <datecit>
        <date>20100406</date>
      </datecit>
    </online>
    <rel-passage>
      <text>lines 245-280</text>
    </rel-passage>
  </nplcit>
</ep-opposition-evidence>

Example: Evidences of other types​

The options for attaching files under Evidence - other are the same for all categories of persons and communication:

  • Affidavit
  • Image or photo (PDF)
  • Model reference
  • Other evidence
  • Translation of evidence

The example shows an opponent filing other evidences.

XML package-data.xml:

<package-data dtd-version="1.0" produced-by="applicant" lang="en">
  <transmittal-info>
  <signatories>
  <application-request file="ep-opposition-data.xml"/>
  <other-documents>
    <other-doc file="ep-oppo.pdf" file-type="pdf">
      <document-name>2300E</document-name>
      <dtext/>
    </other-doc>
    <other-doc file="ep-opposition-data.xml" file-type="xml">
      <document-name>REQXML</document-name>
      <dtext/>
    </other-doc>
    <other-doc file="Affidavit-1.pdf" file-type="pdf">
      <document-name>AFFIDAVIT</document-name>
      <dtext/>
    </other-doc>
    <other-doc file="Other-evidence-1.pdf" file-type="pdf">
      <document-name>EVDNCE_OTHER</document-name>
      <dtext/>
    </other-doc>
    <other-doc file="Evidence-Tran-1.pdf" file-type="pdf">
      <document-name>EVDNCE_TRAN</document-name>
      <dtext/>
    </other-doc>
    <other-doc file="Model-Reference-1.pdf" file-type="pdf">
      <document-name>MODEL</document-name>
      <dtext/>
    </other-doc>
    <other-doc file="Evidence-image-1.pdf" file-type="pdf">
      <document-name>IMAGE</document-name>
      <dtext/>
    </other-doc>
  </other-documents>
</package-data>

XML ep-opposition-data.xml:

</ep-opposition-notice>
<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="D06">
  <opposition-evidence-other-file>
    <doc-page file="Evidence-image-1.pdf" wi="" he="" type="pdf"/>
  </opposition-evidence-other-file>
</ep-opposition-evidence>
<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="D04">
  <opposition-evidence-other-file>
    <doc-page file="Model-Reference-1.pdf" wi="" he="" type="pdf"/>
  </opposition-evidence-other-file>
</ep-opposition-evidence>
<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="D08">
  <opposition-evidence-other-file>
    <doc-page file="Evidence-Tran-1.pdf" wi="" he="" type="pdf"/>
  </opposition-evidence-other-file>
</ep-opposition-evidence>
<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="D07">
  <opposition-evidence-other-file>
    <doc-page file="Affidavit-1.pdf" wi="" he="" type="pdf"/>
  </opposition-evidence-other-file>
</ep-opposition-evidence>
<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="D12">
  <ep-opposition-evidence-title>Draft of a research paper by the Institute of Polymers</ep-opposition-evidence-title>
  <opposition-evidence-other-file>
    <doc-page file="Other-evidence-1.pdf" wi="" he="" type="pdf"/>
  </opposition-evidence-other-file>
</ep-opposition-evidence>
<ep-electronic-files doc-type="2300E">
  <applicant-file-name/>
  <epo-file-name>ep-oppo.pdf</epo-file-name>
</ep-electronic-files>

Other documents​

The Other documents (not supplied as evidence) panel in the Documents tab in OLF2.0 allow for attached any other EP2300-related documents besides the ones handled in the Evidence panel, i.e.:

  • Acknowledgment of receipt
  • Authorisation
  • Clean copy of amended claim(s)
  • Clean copy of amended description
  • Clean copy of amended drawing(s)
  • Document concerning representation
  • Document concerning the priority claim
  • English/French/German translation of the claims
  • General authorisation
  • Ground for re-establishment of rights
  • Main request document
  • Medical certificate
  • Non-public annex
  • Other document
  • Reply to an examination report in opposition proceedings
  • Reply to notices(s) of opposition
  • Request for a decision
  • Request for certified copies of the application
  • Request for change of address
  • Request for change of name
  • Request for change of representative
  • Request for extension of time limit
  • Request for inspection of the file
  • Request for re-establishment of rights
  • Request for transfer of rights
  • Separate auxiliary request document

For each document of this category attached with the submission, an <ep-electronic-files> element inside section <office-specific-data> must be present in ep-opposition-data.xml. An <ep-electronic-files> element must always contain the following attribute:

  • doc-type: standard EPO code identifying the document type. Please see section Document codes and file types for EP2300 for a full reference list.

The table below list the child elements in each <ep-electronic-files> entry:

XML ElementDescription, attributes and sub-elements
<applicant-file-name>Name of the file as originally uploaded by the applicant during the submission in OLF2.0.
E.g.: <applicant-file-name>facts_document.pdf</applicant-file-name>
Note that, for the EP2300 request document itself (doc-type=”2300E”) this element should always be empty.
<epo-file-name>Standard EPO file name corresponding to the type of provided document (please see section Document codes and file types for EP2300 for a full list).
E.g.: <epo-file-name>FACTS_ARGMTS.pdf</epo-file-name>

The example below shows the basic structure of an ep-opposition-data.xml file containing the minimum <ep-electronic-files> elements corresponding to the request form itself and the mandatory facts and arguments document that must be filed in each EP2300 request:

<ep-xmit-opposition-data dtd-version="1.1" lang="en" date-produced="20231122 17:23:54">
  <file-reference-id>2300 Example</file-reference-id>
  <publication-reference>
    …
  </publication-reference>
  <application-reference>
    …
  </application-reference>
  <gazette-reference>
    …
  </gazette-reference>
  <invention-title>DEVICE WITH AN ADAPTIVE CAMERA ARRAY</invention-title>
  <assignees>
    …
  </assignees>
  <ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
    …
  </ep-opposition-external-party>
  <ep-opposition-notice>
    …
  </ep-opposition-notice>
  <ep-electronic-files doc-type="2300E">
    <applicant-file-name/>
    <ep-file-name>ep-oppo.pdf</ep-file-name>
  </ep-electronic-files>
  <ep-electronic-files doc-type="FACTS_ARGMTS">
    <applicant-file-name>_10 (1).pdf</applicant-file-name>
    <epo-file-name>FACTS_ARGMTS.pdf</epo-file-name>
  </ep-electronic-files>
  …
  <ep-financial-data curr="EUR">
    …
  </ep-financial-data>
</ep-xmit-opposition-data>

Example: Opponents file other documents for opposition​

The example shows the attachment of the mandatory facts and arguments and of a document containing information about further representatives, issued by the opponent (or intervener) in 1st communication.

The options for other documents are:

  • General authorisation
  • Specific authorisation
  • Document containing information on further representatives
  • Request for change of address
  • Request for change of name
  • Request for change of representative
  • Request for transfer of rights
  • <otherdocument>

XML ep-opposition-data.xml

Like in other electronic EP filing procedures, the attached documents are referenced both in the XML request file (ep-opposition-data.xml) and in the package-data.xml file. There is no application-body.xml file.

<file-reference-id>Oppo_1st_oppon</file-reference-id>
<publication-reference>
<application-reference>
<gazette-reference>
<invention-title>Instant Water</invention-title>
<assignees>
<ep-opposition-external-party external-party-role="opponent">
<ep-opposition-notice>
<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="B04">
<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="B01">
<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="B06">
<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="B07">
<ep-opposition-evidence party-reference="B02">
<ep-electronic-files doc-type="2300E">
  <applicant-file-name/>
  <epo-file-name>ep-oppo.pdf</epo-file-name>
</ep-electronic-files>
<ep-electronic-files doc-type="FACTS_ARGMTS">
  <applicant-file-name>Micro York Opposition Instant Water.pdf</applicant-file-name>
  <epo-file-name>OPPO.pdf</epo-file-name>
</ep-electronic-files>
<ep-electronic-files doc-type="CD-FREP">
  <applicant-file-name>Micro York Representative Info.pdf</applicant-file-name>
  <epo-file-name>CD-FREP-1.pdf</epo-file-name>
</ep-electronic-files>
<ep-financial-data curr="EUR">
</ep-xmit-opposition-data>

XML package-data.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE package-data SYSTEM "package-data.dtd">
<package-data lang="en" dtd-version="1.0" produced-by="applicant">
  <application-request file="ep-opposition-data.xml"/>
  <other-documents>
    <other-doc file="ep-oppo.pdf" file-type="pdf">
      <document-name>2300E</document-name>
      <dtext/>
    </other-doc>
    <other-doc file="ep-opposition-data.xml" file-type="xml">
      <document-name>REQXML</document-name>
      <dtext/>
    </other-doc>
    <other-doc file="OPPO.pdf" file-type="pdf">
      <document-name>FACTS_ARGMTS</document-name>
      <dtext>Facts_and_Arguments_in_Opposition</dtext>
    </other-doc>
    <other-doc file="CD-FREP-1.pdf" file-type="pdf">
      <document-name>CD-FREP</document-name>
      <dtext>Document containing information about further representatives</dtext>
    </other-doc>
    <other-doc file="Published-Evidence-1.pdf" file-type="pdf">
    <other-doc file="Published-Evidence-2.pdf" file-type="pdf">
    <other-doc file="Published-Evidence-3.pdf" file-type="pdf">
    <other-doc file="Published-Evidence-4.pdf" file-type="pdf">
    <other-doc file="Published-Evidence-5.pdf" file-type="pdf">
  </other-documents>
</package-data>

EP2300 – Fees​

In EP2300, only fee 010, 017 and 018 are available for opponents and interveners.

The reduction and the fee amount can be modified in the GUI. For the data in the XML file, however, this is not significant, because the <fee-sub-amount>, <fee-factor> and <fee-schedule> elements just have to be filled using the appropriate values.

ℹ️ Note

The <fee-schedule> element is used for the (calculated) fee amount and the <fee-sub-amount> element contains the fee schedule (for one single fee).

ℹ️ Note

You can retrieve the most recent fee schedule from the EPO website under interactive schedule of fees (https://my.epoline.org/epoline-portal/classic/epoline.Scheduleoffees).

The global information about fee payment is imported from imported from section <ep-financial-data> inside <ep-xmit-opposition-data>. This root <ep-financial-data> element must contain the following attributes:

  • curr: currency for fee payment. This is always “EUR” by default.

The root <ep-financial-data> XML element should be followed by the following child elements:

XML ElementDescription, attributes and sub-elements
<mode-of-payment>Element containing the details of the chosen mode of fee payment. Please refer to section EP1200 – Fees / Payment details for more details and examples.
<reimbursement>(only present when providing refund instructions) Element with a single attribute accno, containing the date of fee schedule validity (in yyyyMMdd format), and the full name of the account holder as value.
E.g.: <reimbursement accno="28123456">John Smith</reimbursement>
<sr-refund>(only when providing refund instructions) when requesting refund of search fee ((Article 9(2) RFees)), this element should be present and contain the application number to which the search report corresponds.
E.g.: <sr-refund>John Smith</sr-refund>
<add-copies>(only when providing refund instructions) element indicating the no. of additional copies of the documents cited in the EP search report.
<fees>This section must be always present. The <fees> element must include a single attribute date, containing the date of fee schedule validity (in yyyyMMdd format) plus the following sub-elements:
<standard-fee>: contains a set of <fee> elements, each one indicating the details of one of the applicable standard fees for EP3002. This section must be always present. Please refer to section EP2300 - Fees / Standard fees for details.
<fee-total-amount>: element containing a numeric value indicating the total amount to be paid for all selected fees and in the selected currency. E.g.: <fee-total-amount>2842.5</fee-total-amount>

Below is a basic example showing the general structure of element <ep-financial-data> in ep-opposition-data.xml and the top-level sub-elements in it:

<ep-xmit-opposition-data dtd-version="1.1" lang="en" date-produced="20231122 16:23:52">
  …
</ep-electronic-files>
  <ep-financial-data curr="EUR" fee-amounts-unlocked-by-user="no">
    <mode-of-payment accno="28555555"
      mode-type="deposit"
      currency="EUR"
      deferred-execution-date="20231130">Account holder</mode-of-payment>
    <fees date="20231114">
      <standard-fee>
        <fee index="10" topay="yes">
          <type-of-fee>standard</type-of-fee>
          <fee-factor>0.7</fee-factor>
          <fee-schedule>94.50</fee-schedule>
          <fee-sub-amount>135.00</fee-sub-amount>
          <fee-reduction-factor>0.30</fee-reduction-factor>
        </fee>
        …
      </standard-fee>
      <fee-total-amount>2842.5</fee-total-amount>
    </fees>
  </ep-financial-data>
</ep-xmit-opposition-data>

Payment details​

Information regarding the payment details is imported from the <mode-of-payment> XML element under <ep-financial-data> in ep-opposition-data.xml. This element must contain the following attributes:

  • accno: when using mode-type “deposit” (see below), this must be set to the number of EPO deposit account to be used. E.g.: "28123456"
  • mode-type: selected mode of payment. Can be one of the following values depending on the chosen option:
    • “deposit”: Debit from deposit account.
    • “bank”: Bank transfer.
    • “ccard”: Credit card.
  • currency: currency for fee payment. This is always “EUR” by default.
  • deferred-execution-date: when requesting a deferred date of payment execution, this attribute must be present and have said date in yyyyMMdd format as value. This attribute can either be set to an empty value or be omitted if the import file should not specify a deferred execution date.

ℹ️ Note

In addition to the applicable attributes described above, the element should also contain the full name of the account/card holder to be used for payment as its value.

Below is a snippet showing the basic structure of element <mode-of-payment>:

…
</ep-electronic-files>
<ep-financial-data curr="EUR">
<mode-of-payment accno="28555555"
  mode-type="deposit"
  currency="EUR"
  deferred-execution-date="20231130">Account holder</mode-of-payment>
<fees date="20231114">
…

The example below shows payment details entered by the opponent.

<ep-electronic-files doc-type="FACTS_ARGMTS">
  <applicant-file-name>Facts and arguments.pdf</applicant-file-name>
  <epo-file-name>FACTS_ARGMTS.pdf</epo-file-name>
</ep-electronic-files>
<ep-financial-data curr="EUR">
  <mode-of-payment accno="28123456"
    mode-type="deposit"
    currency="EUR"
    deferred-execution-date="20240530">Nano Enterprise</mode-of-payment>
  <reimbursement accno="28405060">IP Partners</reimbursement>
  <fees date="20240516">
    <standard-fee>
      <fee index="10" topay="yes">
        <type-of-fee>standard</type-of-fee>
        <fee-factor>1</fee-factor>
        <fee-schedule>880.00</fee-schedule>
        <fee-sub-amount>880.00</fee-sub-amount>
        <fee-reduction-factor/>
      </fee>
    </standard-fee>
    <fee-total-amount>880.0</fee-total-amount>
  </fees>
</ep-financial-data>
</ep-xmit-opposition-data>

ℹ️ Note

The deferred-execution-date attribute in the <mode-of-payment> element can either be set to an empty value or be omitted if the import file should not specify a deferred execution date. OLF2.0 sets the attribute as deferred-execution-date="" if no date has been entered in the GUI.

Standard fees​

Information regarding the applicable EP2300 standard fees is imported from the <standard-fee> XML element under <fees> in ep-opposition-data.xml.

ℹ️ Note

Note that, if you intend to pay for any of the specific fees applicable to form EP2300 (or want to be able to select/de-select it from the Fees tab in the GUI at a later point before filing), a <fee> element for it must be present under <standard-fee>. Otherwise, the fee will not be selected for payment, and you will not be able to select it on the draft submission using the GUI.

Each <fee> element must contain the following attributes:

  • index: index no. of the corresponding applicable fee, as it appears on the Fees tab in OLF2.0. Note that any zeroes on the left should not be included. E.g.: "1" for fee 001, “5e”, for fee 005e, “401”…
  • topay: yes/no value indicating if the corresponding fee is intended to be paid (“yes”) or not (“no”).

Each <fee> element must contain the following XML child elements:

XML ElementDescription, attributes and sub-elements
<type-of-fee>Indicates the type of fee. This should always have the value “standard”.
E.g.: <type-of-fee>standard</type-of-fee>
<fee-factor>Indicates the factor (from 0 to 1, corresponding to a 0-100% percentage) in which the fee will be paid, according to the specified quantity and applicable reduction factor. I.e., this value should be equal to:
E.g., for a quantity of 2 and a reduction of 30% (0.3), this value should be 1.4.
If the fee is not selected for payment (topay=”no”), this element can be empty.
Note that, when using element <fee-reduction-amount> to apply a fixed reduction (when applicable according to the guidelines), this value should be a negative amount instead of a 0-1 factor. E.g., for a reduction of 100%:
<fee-factor>-1460</fee-factor> <fee-sub-amount>1460.00</fee-sub-amount> <fee-reduction-amount>1460</fee-reduction-amount>
<fee-schedule>Indicates the amount to pay for the total quantity of the specified fee, after applying reductions. I.e., this value should be equal to:
<fee-sub-amount> * quantity (i.e., number of fees as indicated in GUI) * <fee-reduction-factor> (from 0 to 1)
E.g.: 94.50
<fee-sub-amount>Indicates the base amount for the fee according to the current fee schedule (i.e., not taking reductions into account). E.g.: 135.00
If the fee is not selected for payment (topay=”no”), this element can be empty.
<fee-reduction-factor>Indicates the reduction factor (from 0 to 1, corresponding to a 0-100% percentage) for the fee, when applicable. E.g.: 0.30
This element can be left empty if the fee is not selected for payment (topay=”no”) or for a default value of 0.

ℹ️ Note

The <fee-schedule> element is used for the (calculated) fee amount and the <fee-sub-amount> element contains the fee schedule (for one single fee).

Use the <fee-reduction-factor> element to indicate a fee reduction on a fixed or percentage basis. The default value is 0.

Use the <fee-reduction-amount> element to indicate a fee reduction on an amount basis.

Below is a snippet showing the basic structure of element <standard-fee> that includes a <fee> entry for procedural fee 010 (i.e., Opposition fee) applicable to form EP2300:

<ep-financial-data curr="EUR" fee-amounts-unlocked-by-user="no">
<mode-of-payment accno="28555555"
  mode-type="deposit"
  currency="EUR"
  deferred-execution-date="20231130">Account holder</mode-of-payment>
<fees date="20231114">
  <standard-fee>
    <fee index="10" topay="yes">
      <type-of-fee>standard</type-of-fee>
      <fee-factor>1</fee-factor>
      <fee-schedule>880.00</fee-schedule>
      <fee-sub-amount>880.00</fee-sub-amount>
      <fee-reduction-factor/>
    </fee>
  </standard-fee>
  <fee-total-amount>880.0</fee-total-amount>
</fees>

EP2300 – Annotations​

At the end of the <office-specific-data> section (right after closure of the <ep-financial-data> section corresponding to fee payment details), one or more <ep-notes-to-EPO> elements can be included, each one containing Annotations to send additional information to the EPO. The number of annotations is unlimited.

ℹ️ Note

If no annotations are to be included in the submission (as they are entirely optional), no <ep-notes-to-EPO> elements should be present in the ep-xmit-opposition-data.xml file.

The root element for each annotation (<ep-notes-to-EPO>) must contain the following attributes:

  • page: fixed string value “Annotate”.
  • id: a “note#” string where # is a number representing the order of creation of the current note (i.e.: note1 for the firstly note created, then note2, note3 and so on).

E.g.: <ep-notes-to-EPO page="Annotate" id="note1">

ℹ️ Note

The id “coloured_content_note” is special and refers to an annotation automatically added by OLF2.0 when specifying the coloured content (i.e., which documents are not in black & white) in the attached evidence.

The table below lists the child XML elements that must appear under each <ep-notes-to-EPO> entry:

XML ElementDescription and attributes
<author>Full name (first + last name) of the user authoring the annotation.
<subject>Subject of the annotation.
<date>Date in which the annotation was created, in yyyyMMdd format.
Note that this value is not shown in the request PDF for EP2300.
<dtext>Text contents of the annotation.

The example below shows how two annotations created by two different users are stored in the ep-xmit-opposition-data.xml file:

<office-specific-data office="EP" lang="en">
  …
  <ep-notes-to-EPO page="Annotate" id="note1">
    <author>Salvatore Manzoni</author>
    <subject>Account information</subject>
    <date>20130127</date>
    <dtext>Payment details may be changed at a later date.</dtext>
  </ep-notes-to-EPO>
  <ep-notes-to-EPO page="Annotate" id="note2">
    <author>Luigi Manzoni</author>
    <subject>Representation</subject>
    <date>20141027</date>
    <dtext>There will be a new representative for Mr. Manzoni starting Jan 1 2015, who will take over all applications of Salvatore Manzoni and TechInvent S.A. The details and the authorisation will be filed subsequently.</dtext>
  </ep-notes-to-EPO>
</office-specific-data>
</ep-xmit-opposition-data>