Jurisdiction

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Case Law, Germany

(Hoffmann Eitle)/

The German Federal Court of Justice (“BGH”) held in its decision “Papierspender” (“Paper Dispenser”) that a Community design was not automatically caught by the functionality provision of the Community Design Regulation because it had appeared in a patent application. The decision highlights the importance for product developers to keep detailed records, already during product development,…

(Compulsory) license, Compulsory Licensing Series, Saudi Arabia

(Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis )/ /1 Comment

Legal Basis The legal basis for patent law in Saudi Arabia is contained in Law no. 159 – Patents, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties and Industrial Models Law of 2004. The provisions for compulsory licenses are contained in Articles 24 to 30 of the Saudi Arabia Patent Law Decree. Articles 24 and 25…

Case Law, United States of America

(Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory US)/

Patent asserted against Apple and Samsung merely claimed the abstract idea of taking two pictures and using those pictures to enhance each other in some way. A district court’s dismissal of infringement actions accusing Apple and Samsung of infringing a patent for digital cameras with multiple lenses was upheld by a divided Federal Circuit panel,…

Case Law, Covid-19, Damages, Electrical Engineering, Enforcement, evidence, Infringement, Inventive step, Kluwer Patent Cases, Legal costs, Litigation, Patents, Procedure, United Kingdom

, (Bristows)/ /8 Comments

As many readers will already know, two new full-time Patents Judges have been appointed to the English Court in the last 9 months – Meade and Mellor JJ.  Despite the challenges that the global pandemic has brought, the English Patents Court has coped remarkably well and there has been no let-up in the progress of…

Enforcement, Germany, Injunction, Patents

(Hoffmann Eitle)/ /3 Comments

The German Bundestag has adopted amendments to the German Patent Act. The changes introduce (i) a codified proportionality defense to injunctions in patent infringement proceedings, (ii) new confidentiality rules for patent disputes, and (iii) an accelerated timeline for nullity actions. While the Bundesrat still has to approve this bill, this is not believed to be…

Case Law, FRAND, Kluwer Patent Cases, Litigation, Patents, Procedure, SEP, United Kingdom

(Bristows)/

On Wednesday 16 June 2021, Mr Justice Mellor handed down his judgment in the second technical trial in the Mitsubishi & Sisvel v OnePlus & Xiaomi proceedings ([2021] EWHC 1639 (Pat)), holding that the patents in suit were valid and essential to the LTE standard. The proceedings had been brought in an attempt to persuade…

(Compulsory) license, Argentina, Compulsory Licensing Series

(University of Illinois at Chicago, John Marshall Law School)/

Legal basis The legal basis for compulsory licenses under Argentine patent law is Decree No. 260/1996 of March 20, 1996, which approves the ordered text of Law No. 24.481 on Law of Patents of Invention and Utility Models (Patent Law). The provisions for compulsory licenses are under Articles 42 to 51 of the Patent Law….

Case Law, EPC, EPO, Litigation, Netherlands, Procedure, Validity

(Brinkhof)/ /16 Comments

The interplay between EPO and national proceedings may take various forms. The Technical Board of Appeal revoking a European Patent during European-wide litigation is one of the more dramatic examples. The EPO’s stay of the grant of an application following an entitlement claim (an ‘entitlement torpedo’) another one. And then there is the central limitation…

Case Law, Novelty, Public prior use, United Kingdom, Validity

(City, University of London) and (University School of Law and Legal Studies, New Delhi)/ /12 Comments

On 22 April 2021 the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) gave a judgement in Claydon Yield-O-Meter v Mzuri, a UK case on patent invalidity because of prior disclosure. As is known, in order for an invention to be considered new under Section 2(2) of the UK’s Patents Act 1977, it must not form part of…

(Compulsory) license, Compulsory Licensing Series, New Zealand

(Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis )/

Legal Basis New Zealand is a signatory to the World Intellectual Property’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Agreement. The legal basis for compulsory licenses under New Zealand Patent Law is the New Zealand Patents Act. The provisions for compulsory licenses are found in Sections 169 through 175. The grounds for obtaining a compulsory license…