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’.
It will be nothing new for regular readers of this blog that I and many others have long been advocating for more well-qualified examiners at the EPO, e.g. here. Obviously, these examiners also need to be given adequate time to scrutinize the ever-increasing number of new patent applications per year thoroughly. Alas, it will also…
As with many other jurisdictions the fight over Novartis’ contested Fingolimod-patent (EP 2 959 894) (the “patent-in-suit”) is raging on in Denmark. Two recent cases from June and July yielded positive results for the patent proprietor in cases against Viatris and Zentiva respectively. The cases initially begun in Denmark in the spring of 2022, where…
On 23 June 2023, the Madrid Appeal Court (Section 32) published one of the most interesting judgments coming from Spanish courts during the last few years. The first point of interest is that this is one of the first judgments handed down by the brand new “Section 32” of the Madrid Appeal Court, recently established…
The flurry of opt-outs during the sunrise period of the Unified Patent Court was partly driven out of concern of potential central revocation actions being filed as soon as the Court opened. As it turns out, of all of the UPC proceedings made public so far, only 4 seek revocation of a European patent while…
Introduction On 17 July 2023, the English Court of Appeal handed down its decision in a dispute between J.C. Bamford (JCB) and Manitou about the confidentiality of information disclosed in the course of litigation between JCB and Manitou relating to the validity and infringement of certain of JCB’s patents. At the heart of the confidentiality…
On 18 July 2023, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Vernacare Limited v Moulded Fibre Products Limited [2023] EWCA Civ 841, an appeal from the decision of Nicholas Caddick QC (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court). The Court of Appeal, with Sir Christopher Floyd giving…
As of the end of June 2023, 535,152 patents and applications have been opted-out of the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court. The effective number of opt-outs is already being reduced by subsequent withdrawals and removals. To date, 54 withdrawals and 220 removals of opt-outs have been requested. There have also been 52 automatic withdrawals…
As many readers will know, Apple and Optis have been engaged in international litigation concerning Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) since 2019. On 26 February 2019, Optis filed an action against Apple in the English Patents Court for infringement of the GB designations of eight European Patents. Following a finding that at least one of Optis’…
On 4 May 2023, a mere two weeks after the conclusion of the hearing, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in Sandoz and Teva v BMS. The appeal decision is centred on the question of plausibility and comes hot on the heels of the Enlarged Board of Appeal’s decision in G 2/21. Indeed,…
His Honour Judge Hacon handed down judgment in AutoStore v Ocado on 30 March 2023. The case was atypical in that it had a split trial: the first part of the trial considered whether AutoStore’s patents (EP 794 and EP 027) were rendered invalid by prior disclosures made in Russia, the second part considered “technical…
