Procedure

On 1 October 2010 the Patents County Court is due to be re-launched with a new set of procedural rules. The aim of the reforms is to provide a cheaper and quicker forum than the High Court for…

In my first post I have described the old shabby courtroom of the patent chamber of the District Court of Düsseldorf. Meanwhile the court has moved to a new court house which is situated close to the…

Under the UK’s standard duty of disclosure, each party is required to disclose the documents on which it relies, the documents which adversely affect its or another party’s case and the documents…

This case concerned the issue of patentability. The Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) refused a patent application on the grounds that the invention only consisted in an automation of a…

  Unilever NV (hereinafter referred to as “Unilever”) is the holder of a European patent filed in English on 19 March 2001 and the grant of which was published in the European Patent Bulletin dated…

By Legislative Decree no. 28 of 4 March 2010, the Italian legislator introduced obligatory mediation into the Italian legal system. In particular, Art. 5 provides that, as of 20 March 2011, in a…

The torrent of UK cases concerning applications for supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) shows no sign of abating. Following the reference from the Court of Appeal in June to the CJEU in…

Otis Elevator Company (hereinafter referred to as “Otis”) is the owner of different European patents covering elevators systems. Considering that some Schindler elevator models reproduced certain…

Council Regulation 469/2009 (the “SPC Regulation”) governs the grant of supplementary protection certificates in the EU. Core to its interpretation are Articles 1, 3, 4 and 5. Most pertinently,…