The federal district court in Houston did not abuse its discretion in enforcing a forum selection clause between Wellogix, on one side, and SAP America, Inc. and SAP AG (collectively, “SAP”) on the other, in holding that trade secret claims brought by Wellogix against SAP were required to be dismissed because they were subject to…
Although observers think a ‘leave’ vote in the UK Brexit referendum of 23 June 2016 could be a great setback or even the end for the Unitary Patent (UP) system even before it launches, preparations go on unabatedly. Recruitment of judges for the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is underway, a Draft Code of Conduct has been published, and at its…
Swiss procedural law foresees the possibility to file a protective letter if someone believes it will be confronted with a request for ex-parte interim measures without being heard. The corresponding provision of the Swiss Civil Procedure Code (CPC) reads as follows: 1 Any person who has reason to believe that an ex-parte interim measure […]…
by Rachel Mumby Bexsero, the Meningitis B vaccine marketed by GSK, has been the subject of many newspaper headlines in the UK over the last year, with parents seeking to persuade the UK Government to offer the vaccine to all children under the age of 11 as a matter of routine. Few will have been…
In a recent judgment of 2 February 2016, the Barcelona Court of Appeal (Section 15) was called on to interpret the scope of protection of what are known as “product-by-process” claims. One of the issues discussed by the parties was whether the scope of protection of claim 1 of patent EP 731.646 B1, which claims…
Let’s begin with the German statute and compare it with the EPC. Section 34 of the German Patent Act (GPA) stipulates the following: (3) An application shall contain: 1. the name of the applicant; 2. a request for the grant of a patent, in which the invention shall be clearly and concisely designated; 3. one…
In February 2014, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (“MSD”) brought proceedings against Paranova Läkemedel AB (“Paranova”), alleging that Paranova was violating MSD’s right as an exclusive licensee of the European patent EP 0 595 935 (“EP 935”) by taking preparatory measures for parallel importation. MSD applied for a permanent injunction and corrective measures as well…
Substantial evidence supported the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s finding that a skilled artisan would have been motivated to combine three prior art references to obtain methods for using a smart phone to control other devices, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled (In re Rhoads, May 4, 2016, Clevenger, R.)….
by André Sabellek In a recent judgment the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe (OLG Karlsruhe) had to decide on the extent of the liability of a foreign supplier for a patent infringement in Germany (judgment of October 7, 2015, court docket: 6 U 7/14 – Abdichtsystem [sealing system]). In the present case, the defendant, an…
A decision on the Code of Conduct for practitioners at the Unified Patent Court, which was scheduled for May 2016, will likely be postponed. In reaction to a critical letter of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), that argued it should have the opportunity to advise on the draft Code, the…
