The patent office is not always right

I used to think that the patent office is always right. I mean, at least in procedural questions. Then, after 1-2 years I got used to explaining the patent law to the Hungarian office. However, last week definitely caught me by surprise, because I had to argue with two international offices.

In these scenarios, my first instinct (hello, Impostor Syndrome!) is that I am wrong. So, I spend a long time double checking all the facts. But the more experience and legal knowledge I have, the more confident I become in these situations and after checking the law I am happy to argue and defend the client's position.

WIPO thought that our request to withdraw a PCT demand was late. We successfully convinced the legal dept that the deadline is 30 months (R.90bis.4 PCT), thus our request, filed 28 months after the earliest priority date was in time.

Then a -presumably new- officer in the Swiss office thought that our request regarding a EP patent was late because the patent was not valid. I reminded them that a granted EP is automatically valid in CH (no translation is necessary). All you need to do is paying the renewal fees.

Takeaway:
- The office is not always right.
- Know the law (or know where to check it).
- Trust yourself and don't be afraid of starting arguments (respectfully).