Polyolefinfolie (Polyolefin foil), opposition proceedings (violation of due process), Federal Supreme Court, Germany, 8 September 2009, Docket No. X. ZB 35/08
It must be considered as a violation of due process in opposition proceedings, if a patent is revoked based on a document which was introduced by the opponent only incidentally when setting forth an additional ground of opposition and if the court did not point to the relevance of this document before making its decision, in order to give the patent owner the opportunity to defend his patent.
Leistungshalbleiterbauelement (High performance semiconductor
component), opposition proceedings (admissibility of an opposition), Federal Supreme Court, Germany, 30 July 2009, Docket No. Xa. ZB 28/08
If a party files an opposition against a patent based on a prior application which cannot be considered for the assessment of inventive step, the opposition is admissible even if the party does not make clear whether the opposition is based on the ground of lack of novelty or on the ground of lack of inventive step.