Category: International IP
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By Donald Zuhn — Reflecting upon the events of the past twelve months, Patent Docs presents its sixth annual list of top biotech/pharma patent stories. For 2012, we identified fifteen stories that were covered on Patent Docs last year that we believe had (or are likely to have) the greatest impact on biotech/pharma patent practitioners…
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By Jon Gowshall — Over the past few years the UK patents courts have moved closer to the approach of the European Patent Office (EPO) on inventive step. In particular, the UK courts have started to acknowledge the importance of expectation of success when dealing with obviousness. A recent decision (MedImmune Limited v Novatris Pharmaceuticals…
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A unitary patent package covering 25 member states of the EU (Italy & Spain are not currently taking part) may finally be realised after approval of a new EU patent regime by the EU parliament. In three separate voting sessions relating to a European unitary patent, a language regime and a unified patent court, Members…
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By Donald Zuhn — On Tuesday, the European Patent Office reported that the European Parliament in Strasbourg had adopted two draft regulations on the creation of the unitary patent. The EPO hailed the adoption of the draft regulations as "a historic achievement." EPO President Benoît Battistelli declared that "[t]he European Union is to be congratulated…
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By Mark Richardson — Last week the pan-European Intellectual Property Summit (IP Summit) was held in Brussels and the first morning of the summit saw a number of discussions regarding the unitary patent and unified patent court. A common theme that seemed to crop up from anyone representing the official EU position was that the…
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By Jenny Donald — Two UK applications were rejected by a UK examiner on the ground that they constituted the 'use of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes', which is excluded from patentability. The applications met the other requirements for patentability. A final decision on these applications was suspended until the referred questions on…
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Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel? By Jenny Donald — It is clear from an emerging practice of the European Patent Office (EPO) that they were not widely impressed by the controversial Brüstle decision issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The EPO has adapted its practice to…
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When a generic pharmaceutical company seeks approval for a generic version of a reference product, it must necessarily perform certain tests on its product. If the product in question is patented, then obtaining the product (e.g., through importation or manufacture) in order to carry out those tests is technically an act of patent infringement. Historically,…
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Unitary European Patent The European Union (EU) Parliament is close to approving new regulations for a single patent covering 25 states of the EU. Under these regulations, patents granted by the European Patent Office can cover, and be enforceable in, 25 countries of the EU as a single entity. The patentee will be able to…
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By Donald Zuhn — Last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and European Patent Office announced the publication of an advanced version of the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) scheme and some final CPC definitions ahead of the CPC's official launch on January 1, 2013. The CPC is a detailed classification system that includes approximately…
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