OHIM Opposition Procedure Changes

Thanks to Axel H Horns' IPJUR for outlining the OHIM's September 12, 2007 decision to make a number of changes to both the admissibility and the adversarial phases of Community Trademark Oppositions:

• except for oppositions against designations of the EC under the Madrid Protocol, oppositions will be considered admissible if all absolute and relative requirements for admissibility are complied with for at least for one of the earlier rights.
• except for oppositions against designations of the EC under the Madrid Protocol, the indication of the class number(s) will be accepted as a sufficient indication of the goods and services of the earlier rights on which the opposition is based.
• Cost decisions will be issued together with the confirmation of the withdrawal, either of the opposition or of the CTM application
• the Office will now ex oficio grant the second request for suspension for a period of one year, giving the parties the possibility to opt out
• Evidence submitted without the required copy onder Rule 79a will be rejected and not
  taken into account.

The changes will be implemented as of 17/09/2007, and will apply to all oppositions, including pending oppositions.