An applicant who has had their patent application rejected, or a party in an opposition case who our decision has gone against, can appeal against the decision within two months of the date of the decision. The appeal should be made to the Court of Patent Appeals, but sent to PRV's address. In it, you should describe why you consider the decision to be incorrect and attach any amended patent claims.

Review by PRV

We first check that the appeal has been filed on time. If there is no opponent, the procedure at PRV begins with a review. If we agree that the decision was incorrect, we will change it. Otherwise, the case is referred to the Court of Patent Appeals. We transfer opposition cases directly to the Court of Patent Appeals if the appeal has been filed on time.

The Court of Patent Appeals

The Court of Patent Appeals (PBR) is an independent court which tries PRV's decisions. PBR's decision can, in turn, be appealed against to the Supreme Administrative Court. However, as that requires leave to appeal, you cannot normally count on any further trial.
The Court of Patent Appeals

The Supreme Administrative Court

The Court of Patent Appeals' decision can only be tried in the Supreme Administrative Court if leave to appeal has been granted. To do so requires there to be a precedent interest or that the Court of Patent Appeals has made a serious oversight or mistake. Only a few of the cases which are appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court get leave to appeal. In practice, therefore, the Court of Patent Appeals is the highest court in most cases.
The Supreme Administrative Court