IP Glossary O

Revised 25 Jan 2017

Obviousness
Lack of an inventive step. One of the grounds for revoking a patent. To be valid an invention must involve an inventive step, which means it must not be obvious to a skilled person having regard to the state of the art (s1(1)(b) and s3 of the Patents Act 1977.
Opposition
Separate meanings in patents and trade marks. In patents it is a procedure for the revocation of a European patent by the European Patent Office available in the first 9 months after the publication of the grant provided by art 99 of the European Patent Convention. In trade marks it is a procedure for opposing an application to register a trade mark.

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