As readers are well aware, one of the difficult tasks when applying article 69 of the European Patent Convention (“EPC”) and its Protocol of Interpretation is to strike the right balance between “interpreting” the claims in the context of the specification, while, at the same time, avoiding “importing” features of the specification into the claims….
Despite all uncertainty regarding the future, due to the ongoing Brexit saga and the German constitutional complaint, preparations for the Unitary Patent system are quietly going on. The EPO Select Committee gathered information on national measures accompanying the implementation of the system which was distributed among members of the Committee this summer. Also, the epi…
‘Why Berlin can’t wait for Brexit in matters of UPC’, is the title of a recent article on the website of the German law firm Kather Augenstein. Main point: if the Federal Constitutional Court dismisses the constitutional complaint against the Unified Patent Court Agreement, the German government will have to finish the ratification procedure immediately,…
Cases in which FRAND licences are discussed, and where if no licence is taken an injunction is requested, more closely resemble unpaid debt claims then IP-related cases and are thus less suitable for preliminary proceedings. Further, the fact that the case was complex, not only in relation to the patented subject-matter but also because of…
Board’s obviousness finding was predicated on erroneous finding that claim term “mechanical control assembly” was not a means-plus-function term. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board erred in finding that the term “mechanical control assembly” used in two independent claims of a patent directed to a steering and driving system for zero turn radius vehicles had…
The Court rejected a claim that a new action brought by the claimant asserting additional patents from its portfolio was an abuse of process, finding that a radical change in position by the defendant had driven the need for the claimant to bring an action on other patents. Case date: 17 April 2019 Case number:…
How do competition law and intellectual property work together? That is the main focus of the book ‘The interplay between competition law and intellectual property’, which was published by Kluwer Law International earlier this year. The book, focusing on sectors such as pharmaceuticals, IT, telecoms, energy and agriculture in eleven of the world’s most active…
A claim to a device will be denied patentability under Art. 53(c) EPC if it can only be produced through the exercise of a surgical method step. A European patent was granted for a device for the desynchronization of activity of pathologically active brain areas. Specifically, the claim defined ‘control means, which are designed such…
The Court of Appeal allowed ZyXEL’s appeal, finding that in light of its waiver of its RAND licence rights, declaratory relief to determine the scope and terms of the licence which TQD was bound to offer to the two ZyXEL parties would no longer serve a useful purpose. Case date: 18 July 2019 Case number:…
Proceedings for the preservation of evidence and the subsequent infringement proceedings are two separate proceedings and only the latter is relevant for starting an intervention in opposition proceedings according to Art. 105 EPC. The admissibility of an intervention should be established at the moment of intervention and this cannot be changed by later events. Case…
