This post perhaps is a bit off topic since it concerns parallel imports and trademark rights. Nevertheless it could be interesting for the readers since it relates to the the pharma industry. Background It is well established EU case law that a parallel importer of medicinal products may only replace the original package if it…
On 27 January 2022, the Spanish Supreme Court handed down a very interesting judgment dealing with a dispute surrounding the ownership of a patent application that claims a system to produce domestic hot and cold water. Judgments dealing with patent ownership are very scarce in Spain. Hence the interest of this case, the background to…
In another chapter of the enforcement of Novartis’ patents concerning the second and further uses of everolimus for the treatment of several solid tumors (a first post can be viewed here), the Court of Milan has considered whether eliminating an indication claimed by a second medical use patent from the product label does or does…
In a recent decision, the appellate court upheld a ruling whereby the patentee had forfeited the opportunity to obtain a PI because it chose to file a main action first – even though the main action had been suspended pending EPO opposition proceedings. This decision could have farreaching consequences as it may entail that a…
The resolution addresses the question of when the limitation period starts to run when it comes to claims arising from a continuous (repeated) infringement of industrial property rights. The Supreme Court concluded that the limitation period for such claims should be calculated separately for and including each day of an infringement. This means that for calculating…
On 15 to 17 December 2021 a three-day trial took place to determine preliminary issues in a second action brought by Neurim against Mylan in relation to patents protecting the product Circadin (“Neurim v Mylan 2021”). Meade J’s judgment (Neurim Pharmaceutical (1991) Limited and Anor v Generics (UK) Limited t/a Viatris and Anor [2022] EWHC…
The EPO violated the fundamental right of free association of its staff in 2014 by giving (former) president Benoit Battistelli the power to determine the detailed conditions relating to the staff committee elections. The Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization (ILOAT) has ruled this in its judgment 4482, which was published after its 133d…
Update 03/02/2022: The preview has been re-published and the links to it in this article are live again. Update 02/02/2022: The original press release regarding the advance preview of the Guidelines and the pdfs of the preview have been taken down. The links in this article will be updated once the advance preview is re-published….
Executive version: Quite a few scholars have tried to decipher the hymn sheet shown on Elias Haussmann’s famous portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach. This blog tries to decipher the latest changes in the EPO Management just announced by the President. On a peaceful, sunny morning as we had it today I sometimes indulge in the…
A French government press release dated January 20, 2022, announces the creation of a harmonized intellectual property framework with the entry into force of the Unified Patent Court following the ratification of the international agreement concerning it. But what does it means exactly for us? Regular readers of this blog are aware of my…
