EPLAW PATENT BLOG

EPO – Extended access to Administrative Council documents

Posted: November 13th, 2012

EPO improves transparency of legislative process – database still small Legislative history is an important tool for interpreting the law. The travaux préparatoires for the EPC 1973 and for the EPC 2000 have been available for some time on the EPO’s website and contribute to a better understanding of the European patent system. By contrast, […]

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European Patent Office – Practice to correct text of granted patents has to cease

Posted: August 14th, 2012

EPO, Enlarged Board of Appeal, decision of July 23, 2012 in case G 1/10, to be published in OJ EPO – Request to correct patent/FISHER-ROSEMOUNT In the case underlying the referral of a point of law to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA), the patent had been opposed on the grounds that a feature in […]

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EPO – Test cases for elucidating public availability of Internet disclosures

Posted: May 2nd, 2012

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (patentee) v. DSM IP Assets B. V. (opponent), Technical Board of Appeal 3.5.04, 12 March 2012, Case Nos. T 1553/06-3.5.04 "Public availability of documents on the World Wide Web/PHILIPS" and T 0002/09-3.5.04 "Public availability of an e-mail transmitted via the Internet/PHILIPS" with thanks to Stefan V. Steinbrener (Bardehle Pagenberg) for providing […]

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EPO – Appeal not filed in the name of the true party: Can the deficiency be remedied? Referral to EBA

Posted: February 16th, 2012

EPO, Technical Board of Appeal 3.3.07, decision of January 30, 2012, to be published in OJ EPO   – Zenon Technology Partnership v. Siemens Industry, Inc. In these times of mergers and acquisitions, representatives in proceedings before the EPO sometimes lose track of who is the true party to the proceedings. A good example is the […]

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BE – Supreme court upholds traditional Belgian prima facie validity test in PI proceedings

Posted: February 14th, 2012

Novartis v. Mylan, Supreme Court (“Hof van Cassatie/Court de Cassation”), Belgium, 5 January 2012, Docket number C.11.0101.N, The Belgian Supreme Court has confirmed an earlier decision of the Brussels court of appeal whereby Novartis saw its claim for a preliminary injunction against Mylan’s intended commercialisation of a generic sustained release formulation of fluvastatin granted. In […]

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EPO – The inescapable trap enlarged

Posted: February 5th, 2011

As to the problem of added subject-matter, EPO practice exhibits a specific feature which is dangerous for the patentee in opposition proceedings. If the EPO considers a limiting amendment, made and allowed in grant proceedings, to have added new matter, the

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EPO – European patents may become valid in Morocco

Posted: December 27th, 2010

European patents may become valid in Morocco

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EPO – Enlarged Board of Appeal decides on the exclusion from patentability of “essentially biological processes”

Posted: December 16th, 2010

EPO, Enlarged Board of Appeal, decision of 9 December 2010 in consolidated cases G 2/07 – Broccoli/PLANT BIOSCIENCE and G 1/08 – Tomatoes/STATE OF ISRAEL
The Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) answered the question referred to it by Technical Board of Appeal in T 83/05 (OJ EPO 2007, 644) and T 1242/06 (OJ EPO 2008, 523) as follows:
“1. A non-microbiological process for the production of plants which contains or consists of the steps of sexually crossing the whole genomes of plants and of subsequently selecting plants is in principle excluded from patentability as being “essentially biological” within the meaning of Article 53(b) EPC.

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EPO – Willy Minnoye and Raimund Lutz appointed as Vice-Presidents

Posted: October 29th, 2010

In its meeting of October 26 to 28 2010, the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation has appointed Belgian Willy Minnoye and German Raimund Lutz as Vice-Presidents of the EPO with effect from January 1, 2011. Mr. Minnoye will succeed Mr. Hammer (DE) as Vice-President of Directorate General 1 – General Operations, which is […]

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