A report on OxViews 9th IP and Competition Forum and the Osnabrücker Patenttage 2024 The question on how intellectual property and specifically patents can contribute to sustainable innovations that contribute towards the both inevitable and highly desirable transition towards a CO2-neutral economy happened to be the key subject of no less than two conferences that…
Divisional applications and pre-grant oppositions may be filed until the “end of the examination”. That is the wording of the Brazilian IP Statute (Law No. 9279/96, articles 26 and 31). Looks simple enough, but in the absence of a definition in the law of what constitutes the “end of the examination”, the BRPTO has been…
The Manual IP, also known as the Brown Book, is a comprehensive publication. It covers a lot of information on patents/utility models, trademarks and designs for 240 jurisdictions around the world. To keep this information up to date is a large task for us as publisher, but also for the many local authors that review…
Patent claims, and therewith infringement, can get lost in translation. The Dutch first instance court limited a patent’s scope of protection based on the Dutch translation of the claims. The Court of Appeal saw it differently. A thorough review of the translation of the claims remains necessary to avoid unwanted discussions on claim interpretation. To…
On 30 April 2024, the UPC’s Local Division Düsseldorf handed down a new chapter in the 10x Genomics saga. This time the case is not against NanoString (see this post on the lost appeal) but against the US-based company Curio (see this post on the earlier language appeal in this case). The central issue before…
As most readers will be well aware, one of the hottest topics in the patent world is the broadening of the Bolar provision envisaged in the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Union code relating to medicinal products for human use, and repealing Directive 2001/83/EC and Directive…
On 3 June 2024, the UPC’s Hamburg Local Division rejected a PI application against UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football) and Kinexon GmBH (a technology partner) in regard to the use of video-assistance referee (VAR) technology at the upcoming European Championship in Germany. The application for preliminary relief concerned EP 1 944 067 (EP…
On 28 May 2024, the UPC Court of Appeal (in decision UPC_CoA_22/2024) upheld a decision of the Court of First Instance, Central Division (Paris Seat) not to stay revocation proceedings before the UPC pending parallel opposition proceedings before the EPO concerning the same patent. Following previous Court of Appeal decisions, this non-technical appeal was adjudicated…
1. Preamble: The Iron Triangle In project management there is a law known as the Iron Triangle, which states that in delivering any project, there are three points on a metaphorical triangle: time, cost and quality. In other words: how fast can the project be done; how cheaply; and what is the quality of the…
Proceedings on the merits and proceedings on provisional measures may be lodged separately before the UPC, but it may also be the case that as part of the infringement case provisional measures are requested. In such a case before the Helsinki local division the first instance court held that the UPC was not competent (see…
