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’.
Now is the winter of our discontent, or so some may have thought when the Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) agreement was signed on 19 February of this year. The rain came mainly from Spain, which started a fresh challenge to the legality of the Unitary Patent and Language Regulations before the CJEU this spring. And…
