The Higher Regional Court of Vienna confirmed the three-factor Bicalutamid/Schneidmesser Test, holding that a variant is equivalent to an invention for the purposes of infringement if the following conditions apply cumulatively: 1 The modified embodiment solves the problem using modified, but objectively equivalent means (equivalent effect); 2 The person skilled in the art is able…
A new trial was granted so a manufacturer accused of infringing the patent can challenge its validity by presenting additional obviousness theories that the district court should not have disallowed. Case date: 29 March 2019 Case number: No. 17-2507 Court: United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit A full summary of this case has been published…
The Court concluded that the compound darunavir was not protected by a patent within the sense of Art. 3 of the SPC directive because, following the CJEU decision in Teva v Gilead, it is necessary that the compound for which the SPC is granted can be specifically identified in the patent. Case date: 08 January…
The Higher Regional Court of Vienna confirmed that the “second medical use” of an already known substance, as required for patent protection, can be that the substance is used for a specific group of patients with specific effects. Case date: 11 May 2017 Case number: 34R113/16m Court: Higher Regional Court of Vienna A full summary of…
Only two thirds of EPO staff are proud to work at the European Patent Office. Four in ten say they face substantial obstacles to doing their job well. They have a very negative view of management effectiveness, with low confidence in senior management decisions, lack of clarity about direction, and insufficient contact between senior management…
The decision of the Administrative Council of the EPO to refer to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) decision T 1063/18 on the patentability of plants obtained by essentially biological processes has been criticized from various sides. A week ago, during the 159th meeting of the EPO Administrative Council, president António Campinos said his referral of…
by Elizabeth McAuliffe At a Form of Order hearing on 18 March 2019, Henry Carr J gave a high level ex tempore decision in TQ Delta LLC v ZyXEL Communications Limited et al to grant an injunction, with immediate effect. The approved judgment was published on 28 March 2019 ([2019] EWHC 745 (Pat)). This decision…
The high-profile issue whether plants obtained by essentially biological processes can be patented will be referred to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) of the EPO. This has been decided during the 159th meeting of the Administrative Council earlier this week. According to an EPO press release, contracting states expressed their concerns with regard to…
Asia-based innovators filed more than half of all international patent applications via WIPO for the first time in 2018. There was a significant growth from China, India and the Republic of Korea. This has been reported by the WIPO. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) passed the record-breaking quarter-million (253.000) filing mark in 2018, a 3,9% increase over…
The UK Supreme Court today handed down its decision in Actavis v ICOS. The decision was unanimous, with Lord Hodge giving the only judgment. The case concerns two principal questions. First, how the test for obviousness applies to a dosage patent; and secondly, whether the Court of Appeal was entitled to reverse the judgment of…
