Patents

Will the PACTE law, which seeks to tighten up the way in which patents are issued in France, result in stronger French patents or a gradual abandonment of its measures?

Find out how Novagraaf assisted the University of Bordeaux and University Medical Centre of Bordeaux’s IP management organisation, SATT Aquitaine Science Transfer, to protect a new breakthrough treatment. 

Holders of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international applications will soon be able to apply for protection of their invention in Italy without going through the European Patent system.

EPO ruling on CRISPR gene-editing patent is only the latest example of priority arrangements made according to US practice causing problems for European Patent applications, as Dr Oliver Harris explains. 

Regulation (EU) 2019/933 on Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) entered into force on 1 July 2019. It amended Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 on SPCs by introducing a manufacturing waiver for generics and biosimilars within the EU.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that apply for patents, trademarks or designs are more likely to experience high growth than SMEs that do not, according to a joint study by the EPO and the EUIPO.

Advance preparation is crucial for any transfer of IP ownership. Yet, no matter how extensive the IP due diligence before a merger or acquisition deal is agreed, the recordal process rarely passes without hitch.

The EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal is to consider the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in the context of appeal T0489/14, concerning a European patent application to protect a computer simulation invention.

As is usually the case with IP, it saves time and money over the longer term if a strategy is in place in advance of a brand takeover or launch. The same is true when two businesses merge.

Not to be confused with the much delayed Unitary Patent, the European Patent system provides companies with an important structure for protecting and exploiting inventions in Europe. However, certain requirements must be met if patent holders are to make best use of the system.

What happens to trademarks, designs, patents and copyright if the UK crashes out of Europe without a deal? The UK government released a series of guidance papers to address this topic last week.

When seeking to expand into new markets or territories, it’s important to ensure IP protection is first in place. Dr Peter Wilson sets out the IP elements to consider when developing or updating an export strategy.