Case Reports

Over a decade ago, in 2013, when I was writing for the IPKat, I wrote a post opining that the UPC Agreement should produce a harmonisation of the substantive law of patent infringement across...

The first batch of unitary patents was registered this week. According to the European Patent Register, 609 requests for unitary effect have been allowed and published on Monday 12 June 2023.

Today is Unitary Patent day!In principle, a Unitary Patent could be obtained for a European Patent granted from 1 June 2023. But in practice, the European Patent Office only publishes grant of...

After more than 50 years in the making, the Unified Patent Court finally launches today – 1 June 2023. This represents the most significant development in European patent law and practice since the...

Owners of EP applications and patents will have almost certainly have had requests by now asking whether they wish to opt their patents/applications out of the jurisdiction of the UPC.

Key points: OPT-OUT / OPT-IN / Art. 83 UPCA / TRANSITIONAL REGIMEImmediately prior to the launch of the UPC, there is heated debate among patent owners as to whether or not to declare an "opt-out"...

On 21 and 22 March a panel from EIP Latest hosted an informative webinar where they discussed everything your business needs to know about the effect of the incoming Unitary Patent and Unified Patent...

The grant of a European Patent allows patent rights to be obtained in respect of over 35 states by means of the respective validation procedures for those states.

Following news of Germany's depositing its instrument of ratification of the UPC agreement on 17 February, mark your calendars for 1 June when the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will begin operations in...

The Registry of the Unified Patent Court maintains a number of Registers which are publicly accessible via their website at www.unified-patent-court.org.

Member States of the EU that have already ratified the UPC Agreement (or in the case of Germany has indicated it will do so) and so will take part in the UPC as soon as it commences are:Austria,...

The Unitary Patent will be a single patent right, obtained via the European Patent Office, covering all EU Member States which have ratified the agreement at the patent grant date.

The project to establish a Unitary Patent in Europe and a Unified Patent Court to handle patent infringement litigation for European patents is underway again.

This is the second article in our series as we celebrate Black History Month. One individual who has left a mark on the world is Lonnie Johnson, the mind behind the iconic Super Soaker.

From 1 November 2023, time limits that run from the notification of a communication by the EPO no longer will run from the date of the communication plus 10 days, but from the date that the...

Background This is a judgment on costs for a probate case, where the case law for analysing whether a communication should be considered ‘without prejudice' was discussed.

As we move through October and temperatures begin to drop, many of us will be wrapping up, adding extra layers and switching on the heaters. Here's a woman that inspired many of the modern heating...

Cook UK Limited v Boston Scientific Limited & Ors [2023] EWHC 2163 (Pat) A little over two years ago a new practice direction, called PD57AC, was issued regarding the preparation of witness...

In this article we take a look at how trade secrets and patents compare as means of protecting inventions by UK space sector businesses. Background Properly protecting intellectual property is a key...

Dr Girish Nivarti joined EIP's London office in October 2022. In this four-part series, he chronicles his first year as a trainee patent attorney.

Introduction The Barbenheimer phenomenon has broken several box-office records. Barbie has made Greta Gerwig the first solo female director to produce a $1 billion dollar film, while Christopher...

This article first appeared in WTR Daily, part of World Trademark Review, in July 2023. For further information, please go to www.worldtrademarkreview.com.

Heraeus Noblelight Ltd v First Light Lamps Ltd [2023] EWHC 1950 (Pat) (31 July 2023) Summary This case revolves around a patent infringement dispute between two specialist lamp manufacturers, Hereaus...

Over the past few years, a worldwide patent dispute has been rumbling between two giants of the renewables sector, GE and Siemens Gamesa. Although that storm has now subsided, following the recent...

The announcement this week from the UK Government of funding for new Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) schemes has had a mixed reception. It's a shame the announcement was hand-in-hand with new oil...

Parsons v Convatec [2023] EWHC 1535 (Pat) Background In this judgment of Mr Justice Zacaroli in the Patents Court, it was held that s.40 of the Patents Act 1977 did not require the inventor, Dr...

Those of you who have read my work before, who know me, or who know of me, might reasonably expect this piece to be…vitriolic, shall we say? You may be bracing yourself for a story that starts with...

Introduction Newron Pharmaceuticals SPA (patentee) appealed a decision of the Comptroller General of Patents to refuse its Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) application on the ground that it...