A patent is a document, issued, upon application, by a government office (or a regional office acting for several countries), which describes an invention and creates a legal situation in which the patented invention can normally only be exploited (manufactured, used, sold, imported) with the authorization of the holder of the patent. ‘Invention’ means a solution to a specific problem in the field of technology. An invention may relate to a product or a process. The protection conferred by the patent is limited in time, generally 20 years. In a number of countries, inventions are also protectable through registration of a ‘utility model’ or ‘short-term patent’.
On March 5th, 2021, the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court ruled to acquit the Board of Appeal for Patents and Trademarks (the “Appeals Board”) in a case regarding the notification of a transfer of a patent between two companies. The case, which included aspects of both company law, patent law and questions of civil…
G 1/19, which admits the patentability of a computer-implemented simulation, was the second opportunity for the Enlarged Board of Appeal to rule on the assessment of the patentability of computer-implemented inventions. Did it take advantage of this One More Chance or was it only One More Time? At any rate, here, I will only briefly comment…
Regular readers of the Blog may be aware of my particular interest in pharma patents and, more especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, for compulsory licensing (see for instance here). I was therefore very happy (and pride) to participate in a Collective Tribune bringing together renowned specialists in property and patent laws (academics and practitioners), who…
On 1 March 2021, the Eurasian Patent Office launched the Pharmaceutical Register , covering 8 jurisdictions, including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan A demo-version is available on the official website of EAPO. The new Register contains information on Eurasian patents protecting active substances of drugs. The EAPO specifically indicates that the Pharmaceutical Register shall relate to…
It’s an understatement to say that it’s not always very easy to be a French patent litigator in a transnational litigation, in any case a good dose of humor is needed: how many jokes have I heard about our jurisdictional system? Then you have to accept that France is almost systematically considered as the territory…
It’s an understatement to say that it’s not easy to be a French patent litigator in transnational litigation, in any case a good dose of humor is needed: how many jokes have I heard about our jurisdictional system? Then you have to accept that France is almost systematically considered as the territory at the bottom…
In my post “The German UPCA Ratification – at Schweinsgalopp towards Mautdebakel” on this blog, I cautioned the German Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection against ignoring the apparent political and legal problems with Germany ratifying the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) with the same wording as it had before Brexit and before the Federal…
At the beginning of the year, the Russian Government granted the first compulsory license on a series of Big Pharma’s patents. For the first time ever, “public security” clause has been evoked. According to the Decree 3718-r, Pharmasintez JSC, a Russian generic company, has been granted a 1-year compulsory license to use Gilead’s patents protecting…
Normal service looks to have been resumed following the Court of Appeal judgment in IPCom v Vodafone [2021] EWCA Civ 205, in which Arnold LJ reversed a first instance finding by Recorder Douglas Campbell QC that Vodafone was entitled to a defence of Crown use in respect of certain acts which infringed an IPCom patent,…
From time to time, one may find publications that seek to explore the influence that the Bible may have had on patent law. A classic example is Exodus 20:15: “You shall not steal.” Another sometimes-cited example is Deuteronomy 27:17: “Cursed is he who removes his neighbor’s landmark.” Of course, Matthew 5:39 would not be the…
