EPO T 2034/22

Decisions and documents (1)

• 2026-06-12appeal decision

  The admissibility of an opposition against a patent under the European Patent Convention is to be examined with respect to the appropriate legal framework, which is the European Patent Convention, in particular Article 99(1) EPC. The right to bring opposition proceedings and to take part in opposition and appeal proceedings is indeed a matter of procedural law governed by the EPC. The status of a legal person as such, i.e. whether it has capacity to sue or be sued, is by contrast a matter of national law (Reasons, 3.5).; It follows from Belgian national law and case law that the Ministry of the Interior and Security has the legal capacity to act on behalf of the Belgian state, including with regard to patent proceedings, in areas falling within its assigned jurisdiction, which include security alerts, the protection of the population and institutions in Belgium, the organisation of emergency planning, crisis management at the national level, and support for emergency planning at the provincial and local levels (Reasons, 3.6).

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