Patents

Opt-outs are dealt with in Part IV of the UPC Agreement entitled “Transitional Provisions”. The prevailing view is that these provisions should be interpreted to mean that an opted-out patent is no…

From 1 April 2024, the European Patent Office will increase most official fees by around 4%. The first two renewal fees, in respect of the third and fourth years, will also see significant rises of…

On 19 December 2023, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in The NOCO Company v Shenzhen Carku Technology Co., Ltd  [2023] EWCA Civ 1502. The issue on appeal was whether communications…

On 20 December 2023, the UK Supreme Court handed down its highly anticipated judgment in the case of Thaler v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks [2023] UKSC 49, unanimously ruling…

As readers will be well aware, one of the preferred hobbies of the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") is to issue controversial judgments in intellectual property matters which, quite…

The EPO’s Boards of Appeal are famously strict on added matter. But normally applicants can sleep soundly at night after making amendments based entirely on the original dependent claims having…

Yes and no, it seems. Well, yes and then no, if recent French decisions are anything to go by. In short, Hesitations Blues reign. This attitude is all the more interesting given that the question,…

When the Unified Patent Court ("UPC") endeavour was in the process of being designed back in the day, its architects presented the project as an example of a one-in-a-kind cosmopolitan litigation…

On 25 October 2023, HHJ Hacon (sitting as a High Court Judge), rendered his judgment in Philip Morris v Nicoventures[1].  The Claimants (“PMI”) sought revocation of EP (UK) No. 3 367 830 B1 (“EP 830”…