Background For valuable inventions it is relatively typical for a US patent to be expanded into a family of patent rights. Naturally, the value of patents is further enhanced by extra patent term. Patents with expiry dates beyond the normal 20 year period can be...
Background European patent no. EP 2 991 507 B1 was granted with claims directed to a mixture containing fish oil and fruit juice for use in the treatment of cancer. At opposition, the patent was found to lack novelty and the amendments proposed by the patent...
Background Due to methods of treatment of the human or animal body being excluded from patentability in Europe, applicants are required to claim substances or compositions for use in a method of treatment instead. Thus, there is a need for the term “substances or...
These provisions for “second medical use” also rely on the claims for use in a method of treatment being interpreted to include the physiological or technical effect of the treatment as being a functional feature of the claim. However, the interpretation...
However, in a significant development we now report, means-plus-function language for a claim to an antibody complied with both of the USPTO requirements for written description and for the claim not to be indefinite. Where functional language alone is used in US...
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