DPMAObservations & Oppositions builder
Opposition
Section 59 PatGEinspruch
An opposition against a granted German national patent at the DPMA, within nine months of the grant publication, for EUR 200 per opponent. Every fact must be on paper before the period ends; nothing can be added later.
At a glance
9 months from grant publication
EUR 200 opposition fee per opponent (checked 22 Sep 2026)
- Who can file
- Anyone except the sole proprietor. Usurpation can be raised only by the injured party.
- Deadline
- Nine months from publication of the grant in the Patentblatt. No re-establishment of rights.
- Official fee
- EUR 200 per opponent, fee number 313 600, paid inside the nine months. Late or short: deemed not filed.
- Anonymous
- No. The opponent must be identified beyond doubt within the period; a straw man is possible.
- Representation
- Only without a German domicile, seat or establishment (Section 25 PatG); the appointment can follow after the period.
- Language
- German (Section 126 PatG). Foreign passages are quoted with a German translation.
- How it is filed
- Fax or post of the ink-signed original, or DPMAdirektPro with a qualified electronic signature. Never email.
- Party status
- Full party: the proprietor replies, a hearing if requested, and an appeal within one month of the decision.
What it is
Opposition, in brief
Anyone other than the proprietor can oppose a patent granted by the DPMA on the grounds in Section 21(1) PatG. The patent division maintains the patent, maintains it in limited form, or revokes it with retroactive effect. The opponent is a full party.
Admissibility is strict: the facts must be set out in detail for the whole teaching of every attacked claim, preamble included, before the nine months end (Section 59(1) PatG). It cannot attack a European patent, and clarity and extension of protection are not grounds.
Grounds it can carry
- Lack of noveltySection 21(1) no. 1 with Section 3 PatG
- Lack of inventive stepSection 21(1) no. 1 with Section 4 PatG
- Excluded subject matter or no industrial applicationSection 21(1) no. 1 with Sections 1 to 2a, 5 PatG
- Insufficient disclosureSection 21(1) no. 2 PatG
- Usurpation, by the injured party onlySection 21(1) no. 3 PatG
- Added matterSection 21(1) no. 4 PatG
Use it when
- A German national patent has been granted by the DPMA and the grant publication is under nine months old.
- You can put the whole factual case, including any prior use and its witnesses, on paper inside the period.
- You want party status and the power to have the patent revoked, for EUR 200.
Choose another route when
- The target is a European patent, including its German part. Notice of opposition
- The nine months have passed and no opposition is pending. Nullity action
- Someone else's opposition is running and you have been sued on the patent. Intervention
How IPtorch builds it
From search to filing, minus the signature.
The invalidity search runs on into this filing when it ends, with no second click. Three model families take turns, so a draft is never checked by the model that wrote it.
- 1SearchClaims split into limitations, thousands of candidates screened, at least 50 references read in full.Gemini models read and check
- 2Claim mapA verbatim quotation and its location behind every limitation.Every cell checkable
- 3DraftWrites the papers in the office's format and language.Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic)
- 4ReviewChecks each citation against its document and builds the forms.Sol 6 (OpenAI)
- 5AdjudicateHigh strength: a third family rules on every objection.Gemini 3.1 Pro (Google)
- 6FolderUnsigned PDFs, ready for a professional to review, sign and file.Nothing is filed
What the builder does for this filing
- It starts from an invalidity search with at least 50 references read in full, re-qualifies each reference under Sections 3 and 4 PatG, and applies German admissibility only: no Rule 76 EPC, Form 2300 or EPC ground.
- It writes a feature analysis of every attacked claim, preamble first, and maps every feature to a pinpointed passage for each ground, as BGH X ZB 4/02 requires.
- Counsel approves the ground plans at a plan gate before drafting, including whether a thin or witness-heavy case is better kept for a nullity action.
- It refuses before any spend if the opponent's name and address are missing, and nothing is filed or paid.
In the folder
- Opposition briefRequests, grounds, feature analysis, pinpointed reasons, fee statement
- DPMAdirektPro mask field valuesFor the 'Einspruch in Patentsachen' mask when filing electronically
- Copies of every cited documentLabelled D1, D2 behind numbered exhibit cover sheets
- German translations of passages relied onLabelled machine translations printed beside the original text
- Fee form data, A 9530 and A 9532SEPA mandate and its use, one A 9532 per opponent
- Power of attorney and form A 9520 dataWhere a representative acts; A 9520 for natural persons
Builder strength
You choose how hard it is checked.
You pay for the tokens the sessions use, at the models' list prices plus a 30% fee, not for the time allowed. How pricing works
Low
- Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
- Sol 6 builds and checks the final forms
Medium
- Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
- Sol 6 reviews and rebuilds the content
- Opus 5.5 builds the filing folder
- Sol 6 checks the form
High
- Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
- Sol 6 runs a deep prior-art search
- Opus 5.5 rebuilds the submission against the evidence
- Sol 6 attacks it as an adversarial examiner
- Gemini 3.1 Pro adjudicates the objections
- Opus 5.5 applies the fixes and builds the filing folder
- Scripted checks of the filing folder
- Sol 6 audits the whole folder
- Convergence gate
If the gate fails, one repair round: opus 5.5 repairs what the gate found, sol 6 audits the repair, convergence gate, again.
What stays with you
You review, sign and file.
- Approve the ground plans at the plan gate, then the final text.
- Sign the brief in ink, or with a German qualified electronic signature in DPMAdirektPro.
- Sign SEPA mandate A 9530 by hand and post the original to the DPMA.
- File by fax, post or DPMAdirektPro, and pay EUR 200 per opponent inside the nine months.
Where these go wrong
What the builder guards against.
- Attacking only the characterising part and calling the preamble known. Every feature of every attacked claim must be dealt with inside the period.
- Naming documents without working them through, or promising facts for later. What is missing at nine months cannot be added.
Start with the evidence.
Upload the patent or enter its number. The invalidity search charts every claim, and the builder takes it from there.
Start an invalidity searchFacts checked against the office's rules on 22 September 2026. IPtorch is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. The builder's output is unsigned work product for a registered professional to review, sign and file; nothing is filed and no fee is paid for you. Confirm current requirements, fees and deadlines with the receiving office.