by Gregory Bacon The English courts are not averse to determining disputes concerning foreign rights, including intellectual property rights. Readers will no doubt be aware of the recent case between Actavis and Eli Lilly in which Actavis sought declarations of non-infringement in relation to the UK and foreign designations of Eli Lilly’s European patent concerning…
by Rachel Mumby Those readers who are unfamiliar with the excessively optimistic outlook of Mr Wilkins Micawber in Charles Dicken’s novel David Copperfield, would be forgiven for having had to look up the word “Micawberism” on reading it in the judgment of Floyd J (as he then was) in Blacklight Power Inc. v The Comptroller-General…
Analysing whether, if the UK ratifies the UPC, further participation in the Unitary Patent system might be possible and on what legal basis. That is the main objective of a group of patent professionals in the UK, which has been convened by Simmons partner Kevin Mooney after the Brexit vote of 23 June 2016. Mooney is…
One month after the UK referendum, discussion has deepened and several papers have been published about the Brexit vote and the Unitary Patent system. Is it possible to both save the system and keep the UK in? EPO president Benoît Battistelli thinks the best case scenario would be for the UK to ‘go ahead as…
Can the Unitary Patent system still enter into force? Is it attractive without the UK or will companies rather stick with the established patent system as in force right now? According to Dr. Axel Walz, co-founder of the IP Dispute Resolution Forum (IPDR) in Munich, these topics have been discussed a lot among German colleagues…
President Benoit Battistelli of the European Patent Office hopes the United Kingdom will stay in the Unitary Patent system despite the Brexit vote of 23 June 2016. He has written this in a blogpost on the EPO website. Battistelli stresses ‘it is entirely up to the UK authorities to determine whether they want to participate…
Today, the 4th annual conference of Premier Cercle regarding the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court took place in Munich. It will be no surprise that the outcome of the UK referendum was the “elephant in the room” during the conference. Nevertheless, everybody in the room agreed that the UK political situation may and…
Despite the UK’s Brexit vote, the preparations for the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court will go on as planned. The UPC Preparatory Committee and the EPO Select Committee have declared this in a joint statement, issued on 1 July 2016. According to the statement, ‘last week’s vote in the United Kingdom in favour…
The Senate or ‘Eerste Kamer’ of the Parliament in the Netherlands approved the Unified Patent Agreement on 28 June 2016 without discussion. Two weeks ago, the Dutch Second Chamber, ‘Tweede Kamer’, had already ratified the UPCA. It isn’t clear when the Netherlands will complete the formal procedure by depositing its instrument of ratification with the General…
Last Friday Europe woke-up with the worst news since World War II, which could have far-reaching consequences not only for the economy, but also for the values that one would like to see prevailing in the world. It is sufficient to read the posts published by some of those who are celebrating Brexit to realize…
