The German ratification of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement will most likely be postponed until September 2016 and be decisive for the Unitary Patent (UP) system to go live. Wouter Pors, partner of law firm Bird & Bird, has said this in an interview with Kluwer IP Law. Thirteen ratifications are needed for the…
In a patent infringement suit that Unwired Planet brought against Apple and Research in Motion—for the infringement of three patents on a data communications network that included communications between a mobile device and a network server—a federal district court properly construed the claim term “mobile device” as “a portable wireless two-way communication device that does…
Swiss Federal Patent Court, Case No O2013_006 (7 October 2015) The Swiss Federal Patent Court partially revoked/upheld the Swiss Part of EP 0 944 937 B1 concerning a hydraulic pressing device in nullity proceedings initiated by the Swiss Von Arx AG against the patent owner, the German Gustav Klauke GmbH. The patent in suit pertains…
One of the legacies that the year we are about to leave behind will leave us is the Judgment of 6 October 2015 handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in Case C-471/14 Seattle Genetics Inc. v. Österreichisches Patentamt (“Austrian Patent Office”). The case had its origins in a request…
Meredith Wilson famously wrote in 1951 that it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Well, the various versions of this song by Crosby, Mathis, Bublé, Minogue et al may be on a near constant loop on the radio but in all honesty, with the daffodils out and the trees in full bud, it’s…
Will Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) profit from the new Unitary Patent (UP) system and the Unified Patent Court (UPC)? Although it was certainly the idea, observers have disputed this and particularly warned that litigation under the new system exposes SMEs to enormous risks. There is now formal recognition they have a point: the European…
Wolters Kluwer is proud to launch its new Kluwer Trademark Blog, our latest IP Law blog, in addition to the successful Patent and Copyright law blogs. Trademark law is constantly developing, especially in the European Union (EU). Ever since the introduction of European law and increasingly so after the harmonisation of European trademark law, the…
Some musings about a song by Georg Kreisler and about the most recent plans of the President of the EPO to have the Boards of Appeal move to Vienna. The unforgettable Austrian–American Viennese-language cabarettist, satirist, composer, and author Georg Kreisler (1922-2011) once wrote a famous song having the title „Death must be a Viennese, just…
The creation of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) means that there will finally be a judiciary to control the very strong executive power of the European patent system, the European Patent Office, Jens Schovsbo, Professor at the Centre for Information and Innovation Law of the University of Copenhagen, told Kluwer IP Law in an interview. According…
The Oslo District Court held that the climbing skin concept “Fisher Easy Skin” for ski-grip on a snow base launched by the defendants Finor AS and Fischer Sports GmbH (hereinafter jointly “Fisher”), did not infringe Norwegian patent NO 318691 (the “Hartmann-patent”) to which Active Brands AS (hereinafter “Active Brands”) was an exclusive licensee. The Hartmann-patent…
