The UK’s Intellectual Property Office has published a statement on the future of IP law after the Brexit vote of 23 June 2016, saying there will be ‘no immediate changes’ regarding the Unitary Patent system. In its document ‘IP and BREXIT: The facts‘, the UK IPO writes: ‘there has been much speculation on the future of many intellectual…
The end of July traditionally brings a flurry of patents judgments from the English Courts. This year was no exception, hence the large number of posts in the last few days. Among this year’s flurry was a decision handed down by the Court of Appeal on 27 July 2016 in Hospira v Genentech ([2016] EWCA…
by Gregory Bacon The English courts are not averse to determining disputes concerning foreign rights, including intellectual property rights. Readers will no doubt be aware of the recent case between Actavis and Eli Lilly in which Actavis sought declarations of non-infringement in relation to the UK and foreign designations of Eli Lilly’s European patent concerning…
by Rachel Mumby Those readers who are unfamiliar with the excessively optimistic outlook of Mr Wilkins Micawber in Charles Dicken’s novel David Copperfield, would be forgiven for having had to look up the word “Micawberism” on reading it in the judgment of Floyd J (as he then was) in Blacklight Power Inc. v The Comptroller-General…
Analysing whether, if the UK ratifies the UPC, further participation in the Unitary Patent system might be possible and on what legal basis. That is the main objective of a group of patent professionals in the UK, which has been convened by Simmons partner Kevin Mooney after the Brexit vote of 23 June 2016. Mooney is…
One month after the UK referendum, discussion has deepened and several papers have been published about the Brexit vote and the Unitary Patent system. Is it possible to both save the system and keep the UK in? EPO president Benoît Battistelli thinks the best case scenario would be for the UK to ‘go ahead as…
Can the Unitary Patent system still enter into force? Is it attractive without the UK or will companies rather stick with the established patent system as in force right now? According to Dr. Axel Walz, co-founder of the IP Dispute Resolution Forum (IPDR) in Munich, these topics have been discussed a lot among German colleagues…
President Benoit Battistelli of the European Patent Office hopes the United Kingdom will stay in the Unitary Patent system despite the Brexit vote of 23 June 2016. He has written this in a blogpost on the EPO website. Battistelli stresses ‘it is entirely up to the UK authorities to determine whether they want to participate…
Today, the 4th annual conference of Premier Cercle regarding the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court took place in Munich. It will be no surprise that the outcome of the UK referendum was the “elephant in the room” during the conference. Nevertheless, everybody in the room agreed that the UK political situation may and…
Despite the UK’s Brexit vote, the preparations for the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court will go on as planned. The UPC Preparatory Committee and the EPO Select Committee have declared this in a joint statement, issued on 1 July 2016. According to the statement, ‘last week’s vote in the United Kingdom in favour…
