Tomatito (“little tomato”) is the nickname of a very popular Spanish flamenco guitar player, who began his career with mythical singers of flamenco such as Camarón de la Isla (“prawn from the island”) and who has played around the world accompanying other singers with more mundane names such as Frank Sinatra or Elton John. Having…
The Court of Appeal of Barcelona (Section 15) recently upheld an appeal filed by a manufacturer of security systems against a judgment that had dismissed a patent infringement action filed against a former distributor who was manufacturing duplicates of the keys used in such system. Claim 1 of the patent reads as follows: “Security reversible-key…
A recent Ruling of 9 September 2016 from the Court of Appeal of Barcelona (Section 15) illustrates the risks of defendants taking a “wait and see” attitude in the context of proceedings aimed at liquidating damages. This decision was handed down following an appeal filed by a patentee against a decision from Commercial Court number…
According to Spanish law, the decisions handed down by the Spanish Patents and Trademarks Office (“SPTO”) in relation to applications for Supplementary Protection Certificates (“SPCs”) may be appealed to the “High Courts of Justice.” These are regional courts with jurisdiction to review the legality of administrative acts dealing with certain specific matters. In the context…
Earlier this year, the Commercial Courts of Barcelona published a decision which shows that patent owners cannot obtain “Diligencias para la comprobación de hechos” (“Proceedings for the Verification of Facts”; a procedure roughly equivalent to the French “Saisie-contrafaçon“) in Spain unless they carefully prove that the application fulfils certain conditions. In particular, in its Decision…
One of the possible methods to examine incentive activity is what is known as the “problem and solution approach” usually applied by the European Patent Office (“EPO”). Spanish Courts like this methodology, as it allows the Judge to subject the opinions expressed by the experts to an objective test. For example, in a judgment of…
As readers know well, one of the issues carefully considered by courts around the world when examining inventive activity is the qualifications and experience of the experts designated by the parties to illustrate to the court what the understanding of the hypothetical “person skilled in the art” would have been on the priority date of…
As readers know well, over the last few years courts around Europe have handed down several ground-breaking decisions on the scope of “second medical use” claims and, in particular, the activities required of third parties to guarantee the fair protection of such claims. Most of these decisions have revolved around the Lyrica® (pregabalin) patent, which…
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…
The main requirements for applying for a preliminary injunction in Spain are “fumus boni iuris” (i.e., indicia of likelihood of success) and “periculum in mora” (i.e. danger in the delay). A recent decision handed down by the three Barcelona patent Judges (the Judge Rapporteur was the Judge in charge of Commercial Court number 5) has…
