On June 21, 2022, the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office (EPO) issued a decision rejecting the opposition filed by the German company Chemex Foundry Solutions GmbH on November 26, 2020, against European Patent No. 3 202 508 (hereinafter “the patent in suit”) owned by Jinan Shengquan Beijin Ceramic Filter Co., Ltd.

The invention title of the patent in suit is “Feeding Device and System and High Pressure Moulding Method.” It was granted and published on February 26, 2020. The original patent application number is 14 903 213.8, with a filing date of October 20, 2014, a priority date of September 30, 2014, and the priority application being CN 201410521728.

Beijing Caihe Law Firm and Beijing Tangsong Yongxin Intellectual Property Agency Co., Ltd. were engaged by Jinan Shengquan Group Co., Ltd. to act as litigation and enforcement advisors for the patentee in the above opposition case.

Key highlights of the case:

1. Case timeline:

February 26, 2020 – The patent in suit was granted and published.

November 26, 2020 – The opponent filed an opposition with the European Patent Office (EPO).

September 6, 2021 – The EPO issued a summons to attend oral proceedings (oral hearing scheduled for May 20, 2022, to be held via video conference).

June 21, 2022 – The EPO issued its decision.

2. Arguments and evaluation:

The opponent cited 14 documents as evidence to challenge novelty and inventive step, proposing different documents as the closest prior art and thereby forming numerous combinations of evidence. In response, the Opposition Division referred to the relevant provisions of the Examination Guidelines, stating that the opposition procedure would compare and select the most closely relevant prior art document, and would focus its assessment only on the evidence combinations based on that closest prior art.