A nullity plaintiff who argues in the statement of claim that the subject-matter of a subordinate claim is obvious in the light of a specific prior art document, is in principle not obliged to submit further prior art documents until a deviating preliminary opinion of the Federal Patent Court if the court has pointed out…
The Brazilian pharmaceutical market is growing fast and is expected to become the fifth largest in the world by the next decade. While the country struggles to recover from economic downturn, the health care sector plays a key role in political speeches and the overall approach by the government. The Brazilian Constitution establishes access to…
Expanding on its 2016 Cuozzo decision, the U.S. Supreme Court holds that the “no appeal” provision of 35 U.S.C. § 314(d) precludes judicial review of the agency’s application of Section 315(b)’s time bar. In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that Section 314(d) of the Patent Act precludes judicial review of the…
On July 14, a Brazilian Congressman Mr. Alexis Fonteyne presented a Patent Bill proposing key amendments to the Patent Statute (Law No. 9,279 of 1996). The proposal represents an important development for the IP community, especially when it comes to patent term compensation, which may become statutory if the bill is approved (click here for an English…
As per the EPC definition, a substance or composition that is already known to have been used in a “first medical use” may still be patentable for any second or further use, provided that said use is novel and inventive. Even though the first medical use was the subject of patent protection within the EPC…
Introduction In a ruling by Hacon HHJ on 4 July 2022, [here] the English Patents Court has invalidated three patents belonging to J. C. Bamford (JCB) while finding a fourth valid and infringed by Manitou UK Ltd and its parent company Manitou BF (Manitou). The judgment followed a six-day trial in November last year. Parallel…
As readers will be well aware, one of the points on which the courts of various European countries diverge, is whether or not the prosecution history of the patent at hand may be taken into account to interpret its scope of protection. For example, the UK Supreme Court, in its landmark judgment of 12 July…
In September 2021, Brazilian Congress passed a law changing the compulsory licensing landscape as a political answer to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Initially, Congress wanted to include new possibilities to issue compulsory license and tried to create a mandatory tech transfer provision that could severely jeopardize companies doing business in Brazil. In view…
Because the patent failed to disclose the absence of a loading dose, the no-loading-dose limitation was without adequate written description support. A divided Federal Circuit panel has reconsidered and reversed a prior decision finding that a patent owned by Novatis for administering a drug to treat relapse multiple sclerosis was not invalid for lack of…
The first of March 2023 seems to be a likely date the Unified Patent Court will open its doors. This became clear yesterday during the Unitary Patent Package Conference in Amsterdam. On the same day, the UPC Administrative Committee announced on its website that ‘the timing of the start of operations of the Court can…
