The Helsinki division of the Unified Patent Court rejected an injunction request by AIM Sport against Supponor, because the reversal of the opt-out of the patent in dispute was deemed in contradiction with the UPCA. Article 83 (4) of the Unified Patent Court Agreement reads: ‘Unless an action has already been brought before a national…
The BRPTO published on September 14 an invitation for interested parties to comment on a proposal to review the provisions of the Brazilian IP Statute regarding two relevant timeframes for patent owners filing applications in Brazil. The first concerns the term for requesting examination (currently 36 months from filing, per Section 33), and the second…
In a detailed and impeccably written decision, the Madrid Court of Appeal (Section 32) has ruled in the raloxifene case, awarding damages in the high seven figure region. This is a landmark decision which is likely to shape patent infringement claims and damage quantification, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector. The decision has important implications for…
UPDATE: The Unified Patent Court granted US biotech company 10x Genomics a preliminary injunction against rival NanoString. It was the UPC’s first PI in a case were an oral hearing was held with both parties. NanoString has announced it will appeal the order in the UPC Court of Appeal in Luxembourg. Earlier, an ex parte PI…
Judges deciding patent matters in Brazil usually have none to limited technical background. In view of the complexity of patent cases, it is often that we see judges appointing a court examiner, as defined by law: “the judge will be assisted by a court expert whenever the proof of the fact depends on technical or…
The EPO has proposed new amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA) to support more ambitious timeliness objectives. In our view, they are unlikely to shorten appeal proceedings, will reduce the quality of decisions, and are unfair on Respondents so should not be adopted in full. Background As can be…
It will be nothing new for regular readers of this blog that I and many others have long been advocating for more well-qualified examiners at the EPO, e.g. here. Obviously, these examiners also need to be given adequate time to scrutinize the ever-increasing number of new patent applications per year thoroughly. Alas, it will also…
In Brazil amendments to claims are possible if the patent applicant can show the changes are limited to the matter initially disclosed in the patent application (Article 32 of Patent Statute 9,279 of 1996). Thus, like most other countries, Brazilian patent law contains a prohibition against added matter. However, in a separate provision, the Brazilian…
Substantial evidence supported a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision finding the challenged claims were obvious. A PTAB decision finding that Sony Interactive Entertainment had shown that a Bot M8’s patent directed to a video game authentication system was obvious over prior art has been affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the…
The level of transparency at the Unified Patent Court is far below what would normally be considered acceptable in civil court proceedings in most of the EU member states, says UK, Dutch and European patent attorney Joeri Beetz of law firm Keltie. He decided to build a UPC search site himself. Kluwer IP Law interviewed…
