According to the recently issued current timetable, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will launch 1 April 2023. Implementation roadmap – Outlook (unified-patent-court.org) The coming into force of the Unitary Patent system will affect not only applications filed after it comes into effect but also applications which are already filed and European patents which are already … Read More
What’s New
Reimbursement of Appeal Fee Due to Procedural Violation at the EPO
Technical Board of Appeal case T 2610/19 relates to an appeal from an opposition decision to maintain a patent. During the opposition hearing, the opponent was forced to select a single prior art document as closest prior art for arguing against inventiveness. This was despite the opponent expressing his intention to argue for other documents … Read More
Prior Art Documents in the form of Electronic Evidence at the EPO
In T3000/19, the EPO Technical Board of Appeal provided guidance on the use of internet disclosures as prior art. Internet disclosures can form part of the state of the art but the reliability of the evidence must be preserved where such disclosures are cited against a European patent application. The EPO Guidelines for Examination provide … Read More
Likely Change in Practice in the Assessment of the Novelty of Purity Inventions at the European Patent Office
The established assessment of purity inventions has been that increased purity of chemical compounds was only considered novel, if the claimed high purity could not be achieved by conventional means. Recent EPO Board of Appeal decision T0043/18 has ruled that this approach contradicts the overarching principles of novelty, and found instead that novelty can only … Read More
European Inventor Awards
The closing date for nominations to the European Patent Office’s European Inventor Awards 2023 is 3 October 2022. The awards showcase inspiring ideas and highlight the role that inventors play in building a smarter, more sustainable world. Nomination and selection criteria are available here.
The Unitary Patent Court: Preparations Continue
The set-up of local and regional divisions of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) was confirmed in a meeting of the Administrative Committee of the UPC on 8 July 2022. These divisions will be located in: Austria (Vienna) Belgium (Brussels) Demark (Copenhagen) Finland (Helsinki) France (Paris) Germany (Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Mannheim, … Read More
The Unitary Patent System
The Unitary Patent System The Unitary Patent system is a framework that will make it possible to obtain patent protection in up to 25 EU member states by submitting a single request to the European Patent Office (EPO) instead of validating the granted patent in those countries individually. The 17 states which will participate in … Read More
EPO Oral Proceedings by Video Conference
In April 2021, it was explicitly provided that a European Patent Office Board of Appeal may hold oral proceedings by video conference whenever it considers it appropriate to do so, and without the consent of all parties. In G 1/21, the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) established that holding oral proceedings by video conference is … Read More
How Do You Value Intellectual Property?
There are three methods widely accepted as best practice for quantifying the value of intellectual property or intangible assets: cost approach – intellectual property is valued at the historic cost of development; market approach – intangible asset value is extrapolated from similar or equivalent sale transactions that are a matter of public record (much as … Read More
Up to £5k of IP costs can be covered by government grant for British SME’s
Under the government’s IP Access scheme, British SME’s have until March 2022 to apply for grants of up to £5,000 total (incl. VAT) towards intellectual property costs. Since it’s a grant, not a loan, the amount, if awarded, never needs repaying, nor is it tied to any milestones or outcomes. The grant cannot be used … Read More