On September 16, 2012, inter partes review proceedings became available against U.S. patents and post-grant review proceedings became available against certain U.S. business method patents. In two…
The next wave of U.S. patent reform changes embodied in the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act takes effect on September 16, 2012. The following is a list of some key changes that may impact granted,…
The interesting six-jurisdiction patent case between two of the world’s leading enzyme manufacturers, the Danish companies Danisco A/S (now part of DuPont) and Novozymes A/S has already been subject…
The Board decided that the introduction of the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA) overruled prior case law on admission of new arguments not included in the grounds of appeal, as…
The objection raised by the opponent that the protected subject matter of a divisional application extends beyond the content of the parent application does not represent a "fresh ground for…
The boards of appeal of the European patent office recently issued a decision on December 14, 2011, T 1336/09, in which it was found in ex parte appeal proceedings that third party observations filed…
Litigation and EPO Oppositions/Appeals surrounding a controlled-release dosage form of the drug oxycodone, a morphine-like opioid analgesic developed in 1918, has kept Europe's Pharma IP Lawyers busy…
As the readers will know, the complex architecture of the European patent system allows third parties to challenge the validity of a patent by filing an opposition before the European Patent Office (…
To stay, or not to stay, that is the question. But not in the recent Danisco v. Novozymes case before the District Court of The Hague. On the face of the Court’s decision of 22 June 2011, the…
