Opposition proceedings
Once we have received the opposition, we will check through it and, if necessary, send the opponent an office action with the request to correct any formal deficiencies within two months.
The owner of the trademark will be notified of the opposition and invited to give a statement on it within two months. The owner's statement will then be notified to the opponent who, in turn, can also give a statement.
Notification of statements
If the trademark application became pending before 1 May 2019
We will continue to notify the two parties of their respective statements as long as they give new statements. There is a time limit of four weeks for giving additional statements. When there are no more statements given, we will pass the opposition on to wait for a decision.
If the trademark application became pending after 1 May 2019
As a rule, we will notify the two parties of their respective statements two times. There is a time limit of two months for giving statements. If a statement or report does not contain any new facts that have not already been stated, we notify it to the parties without a time limit.
If the trademark has been pledged or licensed, the pledgee or licensee will also be notified of the opposition and invited to give a statement on it. This statement will then be notified to both the opponent and the owner.
Non-use of the earlier trademark or company name
The owner of the opposed trademark can claim that the earlier registered trademark or company name has not been in use. The owner must refer to non-use in their first statement about the opposition. Non-use cannot be referred to at a later stage.
The owner of the earlier mark must prove that the mark or company name has been in genuine use during the five years preceding the application date (filing date) or priority date of the opposed trademark.
Processing and decision-making on the opposition
We process the opposition matter based on the opposition and the statements given during the procedure. The opposition may be rejected or the trademark registration may be revoked either in full or in part due to the opposition. Our goal is to decide the matter in about three months from when the opposition proceeded to the decision-making phase. The losing party can lodge an appeal against the PRH's decision with the Finnish Market Court.