Video conferences will become the default format of oral opposition proceedings in at the European Patent Office as of 2023. Only under certain circumstances, and when the opposition division permits it, will oral proceedings in opposition be conducted in person. A decision to that effect was announced yesterday, a week after the publication of the final…

The preparations for the start of the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court have gained momentum. In the upcoming week a high-profile conference on the UP system will be held in Brussels and a mock UPC trial in Paris. The conference, jointly organised by the Belgian government, the EPO and the European Commission, will…

In a case where the patent is not opposed in its entirety, the opposition being directed at certain claims only, and where the Opposition Division decides that all of the proprietor’s requests in relation to the opposed claims must fail, only the unopposed claims, which are not part of any opposition proceedings, are left standing….

It has long been held that a prior art disclosure of a chemical compound would disclose this chemical compound in all grades of purity and that novelty could only be achieved if the claimed level of purity could not be reached in the prior art. However, in the current decision the view that such an…

As per the EPC definition, a substance or composition that is already known to have been used in a “first medical use” may still be patentable for any second or further use, provided that said use is novel and inventive. Even though the first medical use was the subject of patent protection within the EPC…

The member states of the European Patent Organisation have re-appointed EPO president António Campinos for a second five-year term in office, commencing 1 July 2023.  The decision was made at a meeting of the EPO’s Administrative Council held in Munich. As far as is clear, there was no extensive discussion about the reappointment, despite a…

The Holy Roman Empire (Latin: Sacrum Romanum Imperium; German: Heiliges Römisches Reich, later: Heiliges Römisches Reich deutscher Nation) was one of the largest, most successful and longest-lasting political entities in Europe. Founded by the German Emperor Otto the Great in 962, who wanted to continue and revive the empire of Charlemagne, who in turn considered…