In June 2023 the European patent landscape will see one of the most dramatic changes in decades with the introduction of the Unitary Patent (UP) and the opening of Unified Patent Court (UPC). In a short series this blog will go through the main characteristics of the system and decisions that need to made to…
A number of recent decisions have highlighted the risks that can arise from the practice of supplying draft judgments to litigants and their advisers under an embargo. The courts have made it clear that a breach of embargo is to be treated seriously, and failure to comply with an embargo may result in proceedings for…
“Jamais deux sans trois”. The French Supreme Court (“Cour de Cassation”) has issued no less than seven decisions relating to SPCs on February 1st, 2023. After having reported the two relating to the interpretation of article 3 a) of the SPC Regulation last week (nivolumab and pembrolizumab cases), I will report today a decision rendered…
In June 2023 the European patent landscape will see one of the most dramatic changes in decades with the introduction of the Unitary Patent (UP) and the opening of Unified Patent Court (UPC). In a short series this blog will go through the main characteristics of the system and decisions that need to made to…
Today, Germany has ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court. This has been confirmed by a statement of its Federal Ministry of Justice. Germany’s ratification launches the countdown as set under Article 89 of the UPC Agreement according to which the Agreement will enter into force on 1 June 2023. According to an announcement…
In the spirit of Jonathan Swift’s unforgettable Modest Proposal for preventing the Children of Poor People from being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country and for making them beneficial to the Publick, Let us first consider a Modest Proposal of how the European Patent Office could be restructured to achieve • 100% EPO Quality…
The start date for the Unified Patent Court remains 1 June 2023. This has been confirmed to Kluwer IP Law by Johannes Karcher, acting chairman of the Administrative Committee. The decision was made by the UPC member states last week at a meeting of the Administrative Committee in Luxembourg. Due to problems with accessing the…
In two decisions rendered on February 1st, 2023, the French Supreme Court (“Cour de cassation”) overturned the decisions of the Paris Court of Appeal which had confirmed the rejections by the French PTO (“INPI”) of the supplementary protection certificate (“SPC”) applications for nivolumab and pembrolizumab. On this occasion, the Supreme Court clarified the interpretation of…
In June 2023 the European patent landscape will see one of the most dramatic changes in decades with the introduction of the Unitary Patent (UP) and the opening of Unified Patent Court (UPC). In a short series this blog will go through the main characteristics of the system and decisions that need to made to…
The industry has serious concerns about the deteriorating patent quality at the European Patent Office. The issue was discussed earlier this month between the EPO and the Industry Patent Quality Charter, an group representing major international corporations, law firms and patent offices. After their meeting, Beat Weibel, chief IP counsel, group senior vice-president at Siemens…
