A word from editors Kirsty Dolphin and Simon Taor
Welcome to our Inside IP Winter 2024 edition!
In this edition you will find our perspective on sector trends, the UPC, many updates from the EPO and interesting UK court cases together with updates from designs and trade marks.
Thanks again to all contributing authors, and we appreciate your time spent reading and engaging with our world of intellectual property. We trust you find something of interest! Should you have additional questions or wish to dive further into any of the topics covered, feel free to reach out to our team in the UK and Germany. Remember, we are just an email or call away!
To read further click below
MEPs sow seeds of change for gene-edited plant
patentability: will it bear bad fruit for the biotechnology
industry?
Kirsty Dolphin and Spencer Knight discuss the proposal and its
impact on the biotech industry.
Open Source Patents: too good to be
true?
Catrin Petty re-examines Tesla's open
source patent pledge.
Recent advances in gene therapy
patents
Anton Hutter and Charlotte Wilding take a look at some of the
latest successes in gene therapy medicines, as well as recent
patent filing trends in the gene therapy sector.
The original GPS patent turns 50: or does
it...?
Rob Cork looks back at the original GPS patent,
and compare it to the technology used in modern-day satellite
navigation systems.
Navigating Standards Essential Patents as an
SME
Gary Whiting and Nusrat Rahman discuss Standard Essential
Patents (SEPs), in particular the problems and opportunities for
SMEs when seeking to navigate SEPs.
Intellectual property for SMEs and start-ups:
adding value and encouraging growth
Ian Grey takes a look at how a properly managed
IP portfolio can provide a competitive edge and secure market
position in challenging economic times.
The evolution of television as told by
patents
Anwar Gilani explores the development of
television technology, from the early "mechanical
televisions" to modern quantum dot televisions based on Nobel
Prize-winning research and how these developments can be tracked
with patent data.
Common life science patentability issues working
their way into AI applications
Sophie Newgas and Robert Holbrook consider the recent decisions
relating to common patentability issues in life sciences and
AI.
Update to the EPO Guidelines for Examination
2024
Kathryn Rose provides an overview of the
annually updated version of the Guidelines for Examination due to
come into force on 1 March 2024.
Update to the EPO Guidelines for Examination 2024:
Antibodies
Matt Handley and Kyle Struthers-Burgess summarise the updates to
the Antibody section of Guidelines for Examination due to come into
force on 1 March 2024.
EPO Official Fee increase from 1 April
2024
Jan Walaski provides a summary following the
EPO's announcement of official fees increase from 1 April
2024.
Changes to the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of
Appeal
George Hudson explores the changes that made it
into the latest Rules and looks at how this affects the
admissibility of amendments to a party's case during appeal
proceedings.
Court of Appeal hearing date for patentability of
AI inventions fixed
Richard Kennedy, Peter Thorniley and Mahdi Godazgar are taking a look at the highly
anticipated Court of Appeal hearing arising from the Emotional
Perception case set for 14 May 2024 and could lead to important
implications for the patentability of AI inventions.
Description amendments at the EPO: more light at
the end of the tunnel?
Rob Cork takes a closer look at recent
developments on a potential referral to the Enlarged Board of
Appeal from T56/21, which now seems increasingly likely to go
ahead.
EPO announces new fee reduction scheme for
infrequent users
Tim Russell and Spencer Knight summarise EPO's introduction
of 30% fee discounts designed to benefit infrequent users of the
European patent system
EU design law: significant changes in the
pipeline
George Hudson provides an overview of the
agreement between the EU Council and Commission on proposed changes
to European Designs Regulations and European Designs Directive.
Claim interpretation at the UPC
Caroline Allen discusses methods of claim
interpretation and legal certainty at the UPC.
A not-so literal interpretation: changing
languages at the UPC
Caroline Allen explores how defendants at the
UPC gain certainty on changing the language of proceedings before
filing their defence.
The interplay between EPO opposition proceedings
and UPC revocation actions: to stay or not to
stay
Peter Thorniley and Mahdi Godazgar are taking a closer look at how
file revocation actions in parallel with opposition actions at the
EPO will be managed at UPC.
UPC Court of Appeal overturns preliminary
injunction
Peter Thorniley and Mahdi Godazgar are following the Court of
Appeal and how it has weighed in on substantive issues of
infringement and validity for the first time. In doing so, it has
overturned a preliminary injunction and yet simultaneously
confirmed the UPC as a venue of choice for such measures.
Veganu-ready? Plant based
branding
Clare Turnbull and Jay Patel provide an insight on the rise in
consumer demand for vegan products and vegan certifications.
Lewis Hamilton fails to qualify
Camilla Sexton looks into the recent Board of
Appeal decision to refuse Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton for
partial trade mark registration of his name in the EU.
TESTAROSSA: is second hand use genuine
use?
Mechthild Liebelt is taking a closer look at
TESTAROSSA – Ferrari's trade make of its famous sport car
model which is no longer produced by the manufacturer since
1996.
No Lemon-aid for Thatchers in IPEC
judgment
Robert Peake and Benedict Sharrock-Harris look at how the legal
battle unfolded between a well-known cider producer and a
supermarket giant, as they grappled over Aldi's introduction of
its own-branded cloudy lemon cider product.
We can mediate with them! – Churchill case
gives encouragement to SMEs
James Tumbridge and Benedict Sharrock-Harris consider the recent
case of Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.
VS News
A round-up of the latest Venner Shipley news.
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