Patents

A November 2022 decision by the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office addresses several issues relating to the sufficiency of disclosure in patent descriptions.

A thorough review of your trademark portfolio now will put both your IP rights and your business in a strong position for the year to come. Assess your registrations for strength, accuracy and cost with the help of our three-step process.

With the imminent entry into force of the Unified Patent Court Agreement, the countdown has begun to opt-out of the jurisdiction of the new European court. Marie-Noëlle de la Fouchardière explains what can be opted out, by whom and how to simplify the management of opt-out declarations.

Whether you choose to file a patent application or keep a new invention secret, it’s crucial to take steps to minimise the risks of disclosure. Rose-Marie Ehanno explains how to keep patentable inventions confidential.

Must a compound be shown to be suitable for each disease for first medical use claims to be sufficiently disclosed in applications for European patents, asks Matthieu Boulard. 

In a recent webinar on best practices for European patents, Novagraaf’s Dr Kate McNamara joined experts from Questel to discuss the new European patenting landscape. Here, we summarise some of the key points discussed.

Patents to protect innovation are applied for and owned only by their ‘human’ inventor, so what happens if a product is produced entirely and autonomously by a highly advanced computer? This question has been at the heart of a number of proceedings before patent offices around the world, including the EPO, as Volha Parfenchyk explains.

In June 2022, the World Trade Organization approved the temporary lifting of patents for COVID-19 vaccines. Robert Balsters explains what this means in practice. 

When it comes to protecting software innovation, copyright can appear to be the only applicable right. Sylvain Chaffraix explains how to include software patents in innovation management strategies in Europe.  

When businesses merge with or acquire other businesses, the challenge for IP professionals doesn’t stop once the deal is complete. For IP rights to be properly updated and maintained, the question of how to brand and structure the newly merged business first needs to be addressed.

Establishing valid priority claims can be challenging for co-applicants in Europe, as Stéphanie Landais-Patarin explains.

PPH programmes can help patent applicants to accelerate the grant of a patent application in a second patent office. We set out the opportunities and benefits of the system.