Opposition procedure at Union level

1.   Within three months of the date of publication of the single document and the reference to the electronic publication of the product specification in the Union register provided for in Article 23(7), an opponent, as referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, may lodge an opposition with the Office. The applicant and the opponent shall be considered to be the parties to the procedure.
2.   An opponent may be the competent authority of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident in a third country or in another Member State, except a national opponent referred to in Article 15(1).
3.   The Office shall check the admissibility of the opposition in accordance with Article 26.
4.   Where the Office considers the opposition to be admissible, it shall, within two months of receipt of the opposition, invite the opponent and the applicant to engage in consultations for a reasonable period not exceeding three months with a view to reaching a friendly settlement. At any time during that period, the Office may, at the joint request of the opponent and the applicant, extend that period by a maximum of three months. The Office shall offer alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, for the consultations between the applicant and the opponent, as referred to in Article 170 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001.
5.   During the consultations referred to in paragraph 4, the applicant and the opponent shall provide each other with the information necessary to assess whether the application complies with the conditions set out in this Regulation.
6.   The Geographical Indications Division may at any stage of the opposition procedure consult the Advisory Board, in which case the parties shall be notified and the period referred to in paragraph 4 shall be suspended.
7.   Within one month of the end of the consultations referred to in paragraph 4, the applicant shall communicate the outcome of the consultations to the Office.
8.   Where, following the consultations, the information published in accordance with Article 23(7) has been modified, the Office shall carry out a new examination of the modified application. Where the application has been modified in a substantial manner and the Office considers that the modified application meets the conditions for registration, it shall publish the modified application in accordance with Article 23(7).
9.   The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down rules on the submission of the opposition and specifying the format and the online presentation of the reasoned statement of opposition. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 68(2).