Introduction In decisions G 2/12 (“Broccoli II”) and G 2/13 (“Tomatoes II”), the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) of the European Patent Office (EPO) found that plants and products thereof, e.g. seeds and fruits, are patentable. This is the case...
Arrow Declarations The term “Arrow Declaration” refers to a declaration that the subject-matter of an invention is not patentable. The term stems from the case Arrow v Merck [2007] EWHC 1900 (Pat) where such a declaration was first issued. Unlike...
Introduction There are two key points of practice discussed in the T 1691/15 Decision:- The default position of the Directorate Quality Support (DQS), a department within the EPO, to keep complaints confidential and on the non-public part of the file; and The...
The Courts of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) have now issued Decision C-494/15 (Tommy Hilfiger Licensing vs Delta Center) following a referral from the Czech Supreme Court. The decision arises from legal action by trade mark holders to force the company that...
The UK voted on 23 June 2016 to leave the EU. In the short term at least there will be no change with regards to any IP practice within Europe. Importantly no current rights will be lost and all rights, including patents and trade marks, will remain. Whatever the...
Extensions of Time The most notable change is that requests for extensions of time will now only be available in “exceptional cases with duly substantiated requests”. This is in contrast to the current practice where extensions of time are routinely...
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