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’.
When the Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) endeavour was in the process of being designed back in the day, its architects presented the project as an example of a one-in-a-kind cosmopolitan litigation forum, the seat of patent judges and litigators from all cultures, skills, backgrounds, languages and walks of life. A cosmopolitan court that would set…
On 25 October 2023, HHJ Hacon (sitting as a High Court Judge), rendered his judgment in Philip Morris v Nicoventures[1]. The Claimants (“PMI”) sought revocation of EP (UK) No. 3 367 830 B1 (“EP 830”) and the defendants (“BAT”) counterclaimed for infringement. EP 830 was held to be invalid for lack of inventive step and…
…well, at least the EPO’s Boards of Appeal, represented by their President Mr. Josefsson, are. Mr. Josefsson announced in the Boards of Appeal and key decisions 2023 conference just a few minutes ago that in view of the feedback received by users (including yours truly) he will no longer pursue the planned shortening of the…
On October 24, 2023, the Brazilian government released an Action Plan aiming at fostering the National Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy. The plan was prepared by the Interministry IP Group ( a group created in 2019 to coordinate the federal government activities in the field of intellectual property. Thirteen Ministries form part of GIPI, and the…
The Unitary Patent system is doing much better than expected, with almost 80 cases in the first six months and about 20-25% of new European patents converted to UPs, according to Paul England. He is senior counsel at Taylor Wessing and co-author of the Practitioner’s Guide to the Unified Patent Court and the Practitioner’s Guide…
A recent letter by the EPO’s Central Staff Committee (CSC) about Rewarding quality in the core business is too important and far too well-written to remain unnoticed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it confirms the reality of the problems addressed in my earlier posts, e.g. (1), (2) and elsewhere. Despite its uplifting title “50 years EPC – Rewarding…
The Status Quo injunction is not a variation on Wayne’s World classic “No Stairway, Denied” joke. While some may yearn for a ban on their generic tunes, Status Quo is still not denied. That is not the faith of all generics, as Teva found out in Dutch litigation over its generic version of Grünenthal’s Nebido:…
The EPO has proposed new amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA) to support more ambitious timeliness objectives. In our view, they are unlikely to shorten appeal proceedings, will reduce the quality of decisions, and are unfair on Respondents so should not be adopted in full. Background As can be…
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…
