Since 19 January 2022, the provisional application protocol (“PAP”) of the UPCA has officially entered into force. However, as previously reported, this entry into force of UPC faces a number of difficulties, including the exit of the UK as a result of BREXIT. One example is PAP’s Article 3(1), which requires the Protocol to be…
SPCs are often valuable and therefore important to their proprietors. Indeed, such is the potential value of an additional period of exclusivity, that in the last decade or so, we have seen SPCs challenged where only a few weeks or even a few days of the SPC term remain. It is therefore hardly surprising, especially…
Although the title of this blog may sound trite to most readers, it may still be of interest to briefly discuss a recent case where this topic was discussed before the Spanish courts in the context of a judicial patent dispute between Erasmus Universiteit Medisch Centrum Rotterdam (“Erasmus) and its licensee, on the one hand,…
Meade J reaffirms the UK Courts’ approach to disclosure of confidential information How far should the Court go to protect a party’s confidential information during disclosure? In a recent decision ([2022] EWHC 490 (Pat)) in two related patent infringement actions between Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (“SGRE”) and General Electric (“GE”), Meade J confirmed that there…
The Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) confirmed a second instance court judgment considering, inter alia, the effect of a later exclusive patent license contract having the same subject matter as an earlier one and the effect of (non-)registration of an exclusive patent license contract and its termination with the Bulgarian Patent Office (BPO). Case…
If, in an action for a declaration of invalidity of a patent brought by several plaintiffs, the proceedings against one of the plaintiffs are interrupted pursuant to Section 240 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), a partial judgment may be given against the other plaintiffs. Case date: 24 August 2021 Case number: X ZR 59/19 Court:…
The article “One small step for “artificial intelligence”, and a giant leap for the Australian patent system? The Federal Court decision in Thaler v Commissioner of Patents” analyses the reasoning of Beach J in the Thaler decision at first instance, noting that this decision is the first judicial consideration in Australia relating to the impact…
Back in 2021 the Competition Enhancement Office and the Intellectual Property Policy Office at the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) established the “Study Group on Licensing Environment of Standard Essential Patents”. Various experts and corporate actors joined this group and reviewed the international environment surrounding SEP licensing negotiations and further discussed the…
The Board incorrectly interpreted Section 311(b)’s “prior art consisting of patents or printed publications” to encompass applicant admitted prior art, but such art may be relevant as an admission. Concluding that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board incorrectly considered applicant admitted prior art (AAPA) in its review of a Qualcomm’s integrated circuit patent in a…
Following nullity advice from the Dutch Patent Office, the Dutch administrative body for license plate registration filed the present successful nullity suit against a private inventor in relation to a patent for vehicle license plates with a built-in RFID chip. This case demonstrates the disadvantages of the Dutch registration patent system which can allow the…
