The potential of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) in driving the ecological transition poses a compelling question. Could these patents be instrumental in fostering innovative technologies and ensuring interoperability of products that are key to the ecological transition? Indeed, within the framework of the European Green Deal, which aims for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050, the…
Ireland will hold a referendum on joining of the Unified Patent Court in June. This has been confirmed by the Irish government. In a post on LinkedIn, Neale Richmond, minister of state for business, employment and retail, announced: ‘Today, I confirmed to the Seanad that we will hold a Referendum this June to allow Ireland join…
Question: I applied for my SPC in reliance on the law as set out in Neurim[1], following Santen[2] can I still obtain my SPC? Answer: No, according to the English High Court[3]. In 2018, i.e. before the Santen decision from the CJEU, Merck applied to the UK IPO for an SPC for its medicinal product…
On 19 December 2023, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in The NOCO Company v Shenzhen Carku Technology Co., Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 1502. The issue on appeal was whether communications between The NOCO Company (“NOCO”) and Amazon amounted to a “threat of infringement proceedings” for the purpose of s. 70 Patents Act…
Divisional filings are one of the most controversial topics in patent prosecution in Brazil. The Patent Office (BRPTO) severely limits the ability of patent applicants to file divisionals. For instance, the BRPTO rejects divisionals filed after receiving a notice of allowance, after receiving a denial or during the appeal stage. Article 26 of the Brazilian…
On December 21, 2023, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the final version of the revised Implementing Rules for the Patent Law and the Guidelines for Patent Examination, which will become effective on January 20, 2024. These Regulations complete legislative efforts on changes to the Chinese patent system introduced by the 4th amendment…
The Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court has refused as inadmissible applications by law firms Mathys & Squire and Bristows to intervene in an appeal concerning public access to documents filed with the Court. As is explained in a press release of Mathys & Squire, in October ‘the UPC’s Nordic-Baltic regional division granted…
On 20 December 2023, the UK Supreme Court handed down its highly anticipated judgment in the case of Thaler v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks [2023] UKSC 49, unanimously ruling that only a natural person can be named as an inventor on a patent application. In doing so, the Supreme Court upheld the decisions…
As readers will be well aware, one of the preferred hobbies of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) is to issue controversial judgments in intellectual property matters which, quite often, instead of providing guidance to national courts, raise more questions than they answer. After the Christmas break, the CJEU seems to have…
The EPO’s Boards of Appeal are famously strict on added matter. But normally applicants can sleep soundly at night after making amendments based entirely on the original dependent claims having appropriate back references, especially where the amendments still cover the examples. T 1137/21 however might cause some applicants sleepless nights, as the Board found the…
