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In a recent webinar on best practices for European patents, Novagraaf’s Dr Kate McNamara joined experts from Questel to discuss the new European patenting landscape. Here, we summarise some of the key points discussed.
Patents to protect innovation are applied for and owned only by their ‘human’ inventor, so what happens if a product is produced entirely and autonomously by a highly advanced computer? This question has been at the heart of a number of proceedings before patent offices around the world, including the EPO, as Volha Parfenchyk explains.
In June 2022, the World Trade Organization approved the temporary lifting of patents for COVID-19 vaccines. Robert Balsters explains what this means in practice.
When it comes to protecting software innovation, copyright can appear to be the only applicable right. Sylvain Chaffraix explains how to include software patents in innovation management strategies in Europe.
When businesses merge with or acquire other businesses, the challenge for IP professionals doesn’t stop once the deal is complete. For IP rights to be properly updated and maintained, the question of how to brand and structure the newly merged business first needs to be addressed.
Establishing valid priority claims can be challenging for co-applicants in Europe, as Stéphanie Landais-Patarin explains.
PPH programmes can help patent applicants to accelerate the grant of a patent application in a second patent office. We set out the opportunities and benefits of the system.
Latest development at the EPO is a further example of the challenges that applicants, particularly from the US, face when ensuring valid priority claims for European Patent (EP) applications, as Dr Oliver Harris explains.
The European Patent Office (EPO) has published a draft version of its new Guidelines for Examination, which will enter into force on 1 March 2022. Martin Kohrs examines the proposed changes.
Last July, the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO issued decision G1/21, which authorises oral proceedings before the Boards of Appeal via videoconferencing during a period of general urgency, even if all parties have not given their consent.
The development of a new product or a new process is rarely easy. From the challenges and concerns raised during R&D to the difficulty of finding suppliers and convincing investors, there are many obstacles that need to be overcome.
According to WIPO’s latest research, global trademark registrations soared in 2020, while patent and design filings rebounded quickly from the pandemic’s initial impact on application numbers. We summarise some of the key findings from the 2021 World Intellectual Property Indicators Report (WIPI) report.