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Should I challenge a competitor patent?
Four routes, with different windows and different costs.
Pre-grant opposition is open to any person.
Since March 2024 there is a fee, e-filing is mandatory, and the Controller first decides whether a prima facie case is made out before the applicant has to respond. If a notice issues, the applicant has two months to reply and the application is examined on the expedited track.
- Any person may file - you do not have to be a competitor, and you do not have to identify a commercial interest.
- A well-evidenced representation is far more effective than a broad one; the prima facie filter now removes weak ones.
- Consider whether alerting them to your interest is strategically wise.
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This is educational guidance, not personalised legal advice. It cannot see your documents, your dates or the prior art, and those are usually what decide the answer. Use it to understand the question, then take advice on your own facts.
Not sure whether this applies to your invention?
The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.