When an opposition deadline is running: what to do first
An opposition notice against your trade mark application has started a clock. The first task is not to draft a defence. It is to identify exactly which deadline is running, who set it, and what happens if it lapses unanswered. Everything that follows depends on getting that right before instructing anyone to respond.
What to do right now
Read the notification in full before reacting to it. Office correspondence in opposition proceedings names the deadline, states its type, and sets out the consequence of missing it. Do not instruct a substantive response until you have confirmed which of those three things applies to your file.
Circulate the notice internally within the day it arrives. A deadline that sits unread on someone's desk for a week is the most common cause of a defaulted response.
The legal basis for the time limit
For a European Union trade mark, the opposition procedure sits inside Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (EUTMR), which governs the registration of European Union trade marks and the disputes that can interrupt it. The regulation sets the framework for opposition; the Office's own notice sets the specific date that applies to your file. The two are not interchangeable, and a business that treats the regulation as a source of exact day-counts will miscalculate.
What changes once the clock is running
Once a deadline is running, silence has a cost. Missing a response window in opposition proceedings typically means the arguments or evidence you did not file are treated as if they do not exist. The Office decides on the file in front of it, not on the file you meant to build.
A second, less obvious change: every later step in the procedure inherits the timing of the first one. An extension request filed late does not simply delay the file; it can close off the extension itself.
| Stage | What happens | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Notification | The Office notifies the parties that an opposition has been filed | Office |
| Cooling-off | Parties may negotiate before the adversarial phase opens | Applicant, opponent |
| Adversarial phase | Each side files arguments and supporting evidence | Applicant, opponent |
| Decision | The Opposition Division rules on the file as filed | Opposition Division |
What to do, in order
- Identify the exact deadline named in the notice and who it binds. Whoever holds the file confirms this first.
- Pull the register entry for your mark and the earlier right the opponent has cited. Trade mark counsel checks both against each other.
- Decide whether to request an extension of the cooling-off period, open settlement talks, or move straight to filing observations. The business instructs counsel on this, not the reverse.
- Instruct counsel to prepare a response addressing every ground raised, supported by evidence, not assertion.
- Calendar every subsequent deadline the Office will set, not only the one already running. A single deadline is rarely the last one.
- Keep the business side informed before a deadline passes, not after a default has already been recorded against the file.
Who decides, and on what
The Opposition Division decides the case on the submissions and evidence the parties actually file within the time allowed. It does not decide on the strength of a position that was never put on the record. A decision of the Opposition Division can be appealed to the Board of Appeal; that step opens its own separate deadline and does not extend the one currently running.
If your situation differs
A parallel matter, What to do first in this situation and what, can run alongside an opposition without merging the two deadlines into one.
A neighbouring question, When a security addendum arrives with the order form, uses the same first-response logic if the opposed mark is tied to a live supply contract.
A separate situation, When a token is classified differently than expected step, follows its own deadline and does not toll this one, even where the brand and the asset share a name.
What this page does not cover
This page does not set out day-counts, fees, or the wording required in a response. Those figures depend on the specific notice you received and are not treated as fixed facts here. It also does not cover opposition under a national trade mark regime; the mechanism above concerns European Union trade marks specifically.
Verified
Primary source: Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (EUTMR), published on EUR-Lex. Last checked: 4 March 2025.
Where the opposition turns on prior use rather than a prior registration, the evidence of that use is often the deciding factor. For a structured view of what can actually be established from public records in a neighbouring jurisdiction, see Asset in Estonia explained.
Related reading
A related situation is When a distributor registered your brand locally and its consequences for a later opposition against your own filing.
FAQ
What is the first step when an opposition deadline is running?
Read the notification and confirm exactly which deadline applies before instructing any response. Acting on the wrong deadline is worse than acting slowly on the right one.
Which deadline is already running?
The Office notice names it. It is usually either the cooling-off period, a response window, or an evidence deadline, and each carries a different consequence if missed.
Who decides, and on what evidence?
The Opposition Division decides on the submissions and evidence actually filed within the time allowed. Arguments raised outside that window are not part of the file it rules on.