EPC, Spain

(Clifford Chance)/

As the readers well know, the European Patent Convention (“EPC”) system allows the validity of European patents to be challenged through two different routes: (i) oppositions filed before the European Patent Office (“EPO”); and (ii) revocation actions filed before national Courts. This system, which has its advantages, has disadvantages as well. For example, it may…

European Union

(Clifford Chance)/

On 17 July 2014, Advocate General Pedro Cruz Villalón issued his opinion in Case C-364/13 International Stem Cell Corporation v. Comptroller General of Patents, whereby he proposed that the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) give the following response to a question referred by the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division (Patents Court),…

Spain

(Clifford Chance)/

One of the most salient aspects of the draft of the new Spanish Patent Act which Spain’s Parliament will be discussing in the coming months is the dramatic modification of the legal regime governing utility models. Although there were rumours that the Spanish government would perhaps eliminate them from the new draft (since within some…

European Union

(Clifford Chance)/

Those who embraced a deceptive feeling of easiness when they saw Articles 6 – 8 vanish from the text of Regulation (EU) Nº 1257/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council of 17 December 2012 will feel uneasy upon revisiting the judgment of 18 July 2013 (Case  C-414/11 “Daiichi”) from the Court of Justice of…

Spain

(Clifford Chance)/

Commercial Court number 5 of Barcelona recently handed down a judgment dated 28 March 2014 ordering a defendant to cease manufacturing and marketing coffee capsules that are compatible with Nespresso®’ s machines. The judgment also ordered the defendant to pay damages, namely, 107,641.35 euros plus costs to the patentee. One of the interesting issues discussed…

EPC, Spain, SPC

(Clifford Chance)/

The messy case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) on supplementary protection certificates (“SPC”) that protect “combinations” of pharmaceutical products has left many patentees that relied in good faith on the criteria laid down by the CJEU in the judgment of 16 September 1999, Case C-392/97 (“Farmitalia”) with patents whose…

European Union, Greece

(Clifford Chance)/

On 30 January 2014 the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) handed down two Decisions in response to two preliminary rulings sought by the same Greek Court that referred the questions answered by the CJEU in its Judgment of 18 July 2013 (Case C‑414/11, Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd, Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH v DEMO…

UPC

(Clifford Chance)/

UPC aficionados will be interested to learn that the 16th draft of the Rules of Procedure was unveiled yesterday. Readers will remember that the previous draft was published on 31 May 2013. Since then, the Drafting Committee has been working on a new draft that may – or may not – accommodate the comments received…