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G 1/24 addresses the extent to which the description can be used to interpret the claims. As previously discussed, it looks set to be one of the most consequential EPO decisions of the decade. The hearing in G 1/24 took place on 28 March, with the opponent advocating a new “diamond standard” that the “description…
Back in January 2025, the EU initiated consultations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to challenge the practice of Chinese courts to unilaterally set binding global royalty rates for non-Chinese standard essential patents (SEPs) without the consent of the parties to the litigation. According to the EU Commission press release, this unfairly pressures European high-tech…
On 9 January 2025 I reported on Parts 1 and 2 of a three-part article in EPI Information by Tamaris Bucher, a Principal Patent Attorney at Novartis Pharma AG, on the current approach to antibody patents at the EPO. In Parts 1 and 2, Bucher argued that Part G.II.6.2 of the EPO Guidelines, which starts…
Biogen has had mixed success in Europe in enforcing its patent on a second medical use of dimethylfumarate for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. In the present Dutch case, an attempt to obtain an injunction against three different generic companies resulted in a counterclaim for revocation of the (Dutch part of the) European patent. Biogen…
The refusal to grant a licence for intellectual property (IP) rights can sometimes conflict with competition law. This topic has already been explored in the case law of national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union, most notably in the landmark case IMS Health (C418/01) of 29 April 2004. Such refusal has…
A recent reform of the Spanish Civil Procedure Act will introduce what the Recitals of Organic Law 1/2015 (“the Law”) call “other adequate means of dispute resolution in the non-jurisdictional route, as an indispensable measure for the consolidation of a sustainable public justice service” (according to the Spanish acronym, “MASC”). Recital IV of the Law…
One critical factor in developing generative AI is access to a large amount of well-structured data. As such, the EPO is sitting on a goldmine when it comes to AI tools for patent law. I was therefore excited to hear about the recent launch of the EPO’s “legal interactive platform“, which provides information about patent…
The Swedish Patent and Market Court (“PMC”) recently issued a judgment on an important aspect of SPC law, namely the correct interpretation of the term ‘product’ under Article 1(b) of the SPC Regulation (see PMC 16666-23, 21 January 2025, English translation). This action was commenced by STADA, who challenged the validity of an SPC for…
It was within the discretion of the trial court to deny leave to amend a complaint because the proposed amendment, like the complaint it was intended to cure, failed to specifically identify the accused products. An inventor failed to show any error in the trial court’s refusal to consider his Third Amended Complaint asserting patent…
In this series, we will review the practice of the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof or BGH, herein: FCJ) on key questions of patent law such as claim construction, added subject-matter, and patentability. This case law summary is intended for practitioners from all over the world, especially for those from outside of Germany. We…
