Part II (- sorry, this will be a bit longer, but a lot has accumulated recently…) How does the EPO in 2018 fare with regard to the criterion “expert, well supported and motivated staff”? To what extent is it already reality, and to what “vision” in the sense of fancy? In my personal view, it…
Different countries have different constitutional requirements before they can ratify an international agreement like the UPCA. Some, like France, can ratify first, and sort out the legislation required to comply with the Treaty later, whilst other countries like the UK and Germany, do it the other way around, passing relevant legislation first, with formal ratification following…
Part I – Introduction The word “vision” has a couple of fascinatingly different meanings. There is a famous saying by Helmut Schmidt, Germany’s chancellor from 1974-1982, who recommended to anyone proclaiming that he/she had a vision to see a doctor. According to wiktionary, vision may mean: 1. The sense or ability of sight. 2. Something…
In a recent judgment rendered by the Danish Maritime and Commercial Court between Coloplast A/S (Coloplast) and Hollister Incorporated (Hollister), the Court considered whether or not Coloplast was the co-inventor (and co-owner) of a patent application filed by Hollister. In 2011, Hollister filed its European patent application EP 11175010.5 regarding a catheter package and the…
It is self-evident that the Unitary Patent system is good for Europe. The project will attract the best judges, there is a good set of procedural rules, the industry wants it, this is a ‘no brainer’ and the start of the system is taking too long. Alexander Ramsay, chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the…
Anyone who ends up litigating in Spain, be it as complainant or as a defendant, should be wary of the rigidity of Spanish patent litigation. Unlike in other jurisdictions, where the parties enjoy leeway to fine-tune their initial positions down the road, according to Spain’s Civil Procedure Act, the initial statements made by the parties…
Adding to the long series of referrals concerning the interpretation of Art. 3(a) Reg. (EC) No. 469/2009 (“SPC Regulation”) (“the product is protected by a basic patent in force”) the UK Court of Appeal (Sandoz/Searle, Case No. A3 2017 1483) on 25 January 2018 referred further questions to the CJEU. This latest referral from the…
Over the last few decades, the United States has been incrementally harmonizing its patent law with the rest of the world. Those efforts continued with the signing of the America Invents Act (“AIA”) in 2011. For example, the AIA created a first inventor-to-file patent system, while all but eliminating the best mode requirement. One area…
In a lawsuit involving the alleged infringement of an Exmark patent that described a lawn mower with improved flow-control baffles, a federal district court erroneously based its summary judgment finding of no invalidity solely on the fact that the patent claim at issue had survived multiple reexaminations, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal…
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the First Instance Court that the defendant had been using oval-shaped signs that fell within the scope of the patent since 2008, without the consent of the plaintiff. No defence was invoked during the proceedings, hence the defendant had infringed the plaintiff’s specific patent right. Case date: 28 March…
