With many others, the European IP community is in shock after yesterday’s UK referendum. Though polls had indicated it was impossible to predict whether ‘Remain’ or ‘Leave’ would prevail, somehow it was difficult to believe the UK would really turn its back on the European Union. For European patent specialists, it is hard to accept that…
Today will witness the most important decision the UK has made this century. Understandably, many citizens are anxious about the outcome whatever their leaning on the issue. To help pass the time whilst the polling is on-going, my colleagues Richard Pinckney, Matthew Raynor and Luke Maunder at Bristows have assembled the Second Summer UPC Quiz (with…
A Brexit would be harmful for Europe and a Unitary Patent system without the UK would be less appealing for Europeans as well as Americans and Asians. Most industries cannot afford that their products are only marketed in the UK and not in the other 24 UPC countries, so the system may still be quite…
No, this is not another blog about the Brexit, even though the current figures of the EU referendum polls in the UK make this author wonder how it comes that cooperation and European harmonization is so uncontroversial and successful in the field of intellectual property, yet apparently so controversial and difficult in other fields. Perhaps…
This author began his career in patent litigation in 1996. In those days, a solicitor’s role was confined largely to the preparation of trials in the English Patents Court. Huge amounts of time were spent on discovery – searching and reviewing a client’s documents, followed by reviewing the opponent’s documents and invariably complaining to the…
In a recent decision rendered by the Danish Maritime & Commercial Court (the “MCC”), Novartis successfully defended its position that even if the patent-in-suit had been invalidated by the EPO Opposition Division, there were no grounds to lift a PI as the patent-in-suit (DK/EP 2 292 219 – Rivastigmin) must be upheld as valid and…
The Board of Appeal held that “Biogen insufficiency”, the situation in which the full extent of the monopoly claimed exceeds the technical contribution to the art, is not a distinct ground for invalidity from “classical insufficiency”. Further, the fact that a skilled person is not able to carry out the invention without using the disclosed…
Masaba Inc. did not infringe five Superior Industries patents that disclosed a conveyor system for drive-over truck dumps and a braced, telescoping support strut, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled (Superior Industries, Inc. v. Masaba, Inc., June 2, 2016, Hughes, T.). Because the district court correctly construed the claim terms…
The German ratification proceedings concerning the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) have been formally started. According to German Rechtsanwalt Dr. Ingve Stjerna, the first hearing on the UPCA is planned to be held in the German Parliament on the evening (21:40) of 23 June 2016. Remarkably this is exactly the date that the Brexit referendum…
If a European Patent has been licensed to licensees in different European countries, opting out of the Unified Patent Court might be preferable to keep these licenses separated as far as possible, according to Peter Chrocziel. He is partner in the Intellectual Property practice of Freshfields in Munich and co-author of the publication ‘International Licensing and…
