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’.
Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer is about to leave the German Patent and Trademark Office whose President she has been for 14 years. On 31 January 2023 she will enter into her well-deserved retirement. This should not remain unnoticed on this blog, even though others are more qualified to praise her merits and appraise the GPTO’s achievements during…
On 6 January 2023, the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court dismissed an application for remission to the Board of Appeal of the registration of a utility model. The court considered whether the Danish Patent and Trademark Office ought to have considered a prior registration when examining ex officio a utility model application. On 14…
The new and noteworthy decision T 670/20 by Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.07 provides more legal certainty for patentees of formulation patents. The proprietors of pharmaceutical formulation and pharmaceutical use patents do often not have it easy, if and when – as is often the case – they have conducted clinical trials before the priority…
Christmas is a season for rest, family gatherings, warm wishes, hopes and good cheer. These days, children and adults alike may be preparing their wish list for Father Christmas. One of the gifts that patent aficionados are expecting with excitement for 2023 is a clear answer to the questions referred to the EPO Enlarged Board…
The UPC website has the breaking news of the day: The start of the UPC Sunrise Period is postponed for two months until March 1, 2023. This is time for relief and gratitude. And while today is Mozart’s day of death, I would like to express it in Bach / Picander’s words from the Christmas…
Concerto Italiano – Preludio Johannes Karcher, acting chairman of the UPC’s Administrative Committee, is to be applauded for the interview he gave to the Kluwer Patent blogger recently, which sheds at least a little more light on the issues still to be addressed before the Unified Patent Court can go “live”. There are quite a…
The judgment of 17 October 2022 recently handed down by the Patents Section of Barcelona Commercial Court of First Instance no. 4 is most interesting, for a variety of reasons. First, because the hearing of the case lasted for five days (2-5 May and 15 June), a length which is rather unusual in Spanish patent…
Article 124, III of the so-called “PACTE” Law enshrines the disappearance of the statute of limitations for revocation actions concerning industrial property titles. It was intended to put an end to the previous case law, which was thus disproved, applying the five-year limitation period of Article 2224 of the Civil Code to these actions, notably…
In an appeal of a PI decision, the Danish Eastern High Court has ruled to uphold the dismissal of Novartis’ application for a preliminary injunction against Glenmark, Zentiva, and Viatris, based on the European patent application 2 959 894. In its decision, the Court firmly stated that a preliminary injunction can only be issued based…
October 19, 2022 was a special day. It was the first day when the UPC website finally announced the names of the UPC’s first 85 judges. JuVe’s journalists quickly did their homework and provided further information on the origin and previous careers of these judges here. The overall picture is that the UPC recruiters obviously…
