A technical teaching making use of a discovery, e.g. of a natural law, for achieving a particular result is patent-eligible, irrespective of whether or not it has an “inventive excess” beyond the purposeful exploitation of the natural law. A full summary of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law.
Perhaps one of the less high profile consequences of the Brexit vote on 23 June was that the number of people who completed the Kluwer UPC Summer Quiz fell as sharply as the pound. However sincere thanks to the 31 optimists who completed the quiz and congratulations in particular to Nick Kruijsen who answered 16…
On 9 September 2016, the Full Federal Court of Australia delivered its judgment in Actavis Pty Ltd v Orion Corporation [2016] FCAFC 121 (Actavis). The proceedings concerned the infringement/revocation of a patent for Stalevo, Novartis’ 3-in-1 Parkinson’s disease drug. A related issue was whether Novartis Pharma AG (Novartis) was the exclusive licensee of Orion’s 765932…
The Italian Chamber of Deputies, the Parliament’s lower house, has approved the draft bill on ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA). According to a report of the Società Italiana Brevetti (SIB), there were 302 votes in favour, 108 against and 25 abstentions. The bill will now go to the Italian Senate. Despite the Brexit vote…
The Netherlands has deposited its instrument of ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement with the Council of the EU. That has just been announced by the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs. The Netherlands is the eleventh member state of the Unitary Patent system to complete the ratification process. In order for the system to…
CJEU: reimbursement of legal costs in IP infringement proceedings must not be disproportionate or even insignificant On 28 July 2016, the CJEU ruled in a case concerning the reimbursement of legal costs in a patent infringement action in Belgium (United Video Properties Inc. v. Telenet NV, C‑57/15). It declared that a flat fee reimbursement system,…
Where should the London branch of the central division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) go, if it has to be relocated due to the Brexit vote in the UK? To Milan? The Hague? Brussels? Any other city? Public lobbying has started in Italy with a letter of the Industrial Property Consultants Institute. The organization…
The Federal Supreme Court just handed down a long-expected judgment on the prerequisites under which a plaintiff has to provide a collateral for legal expenses. The result may encourage further trolls to use the German litigation system. Background Under Sec. 110 German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO), a person who files a civil suit in…
The German Federal Court of Justice (FCJ) recently issued a second decision in a nullity lawsuit revolving around a windscreen for vehicles (Fahrzeugscheibe II, X ZR 41/14). While the first decision dealt with interesting questions regarding the transferability of the right to priority, the second one treads more conventional paths, yet it still contains a…
The federal district court in Hartford, Connecticut, erred in denying judgment as a matter of law in an action in which a manufacturer of thermal flexographic processors alleged that a former partner misappropriated trade secrets engaged in an anticompetitive conspiracy that damaged the manufacturer’s business and hurt customers. The U.S. Court of Appeals in New…
