Patent Law Weblog
recent posts
- Apple v. Squires: USPTO Director Has Unlimited Discretion on IPR Institution
- The Ghost in the Machine: Why GenAI Can Be Both a Brilliant Researcher and a Terrible Advocate
- Bayer Files Suit Against Trio of COVID-19 Vaccine Makers
- Allen v. Cooper (4th Cir. 2026)
- To Require an Inventor ID, or Not to Require an Inventor ID – That Is the Question
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Category: News from Abroad
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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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On 8 October 2011, the Court of Justice of the European Union's (CJEU) handed down a landmark judgment on the correct interpretation of Article 6(2)(c) of the Biotechnology Directive (98/44/EC) relating to the patentability of human embryonic stem cells. The Court of Justice's judgment The decision excludes an invention from patentability where the technical teaching…
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By Craig Humphris & David McCarthy — Australia is attempting to raise its patentability threshold and specification requirements. Significant amendments have been made to Australia's patent laws through enactment of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012. Most provisions will take effect from 15 April 2013. The Raising the Bar Act, which…
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Pulling the Pace of Prosecution from the Purview of the Applicant By Daniel Feigelson — Most readers of this blog are familiar with the situation in which you or your client files a patent application before the invention is ready for commercialization, e.g., the chemical process described therein is still being optimized, or FDA approval…
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By Devanand Crease — After a gestation period of nearly 40 years, and amid the Eurozone crisis, the final form of the unitary European Union (EU) patent and unified patent litigation system was brought in existence on 29 June 2012. It was a troubled labour with much wrangling between the parent member states with some…
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In March 2011, we reported on an EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) decision on two cases involving the patentability of plant breeding processes (see "The Enlarged Board of Appeal Discusses What Makes An Invention Patentable"). In a unique turn of events, the Technical Board of Appeal (TBA) hearing one of the cases has referred…
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By Charlotte Teall — The European Patent Office ("EPO") recently announced that most of its fees will increase by between 5 and 10 per cent from 1 April 2012. The changes in fees A comparison of the old and new fees is given below (this shows the changes in the most common fees paid to…
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By Jon Gowshall & Charlotte Fox — Background The invention protected by a patent is defined in the claims. Those claims must be new — they must not cover anything previously published. The applicant can amend the claims during prosecution of a patent application to grant, particularly to avoid newly-discovered earlier publications, covered by the…
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By Christopher Bond — In Ranbaxy (UK) Ltd v AstraZeneca AB, the England and Wales High Court considered the scope of "Swiss" medical use claims. This important decision clarifies how these types of claims can be infringed. Background: "Swiss" Claims The European Patent Convention (EPC) expressly excludes methods of treatment from being patentable. The reason…
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By Martin O'Brien — The patentability of genetic materials has been the subject of considerable community debate in Australia and elsewhere in recent years. Several inquiries have been held in Australia, including the Senate Gene Patents Report (24 November 2010), the 2011 ACIP Report on Patentable Subject Matter, and the 2004 Australian Law Reform Commission's…
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