The UPC sunrise period is well underway and several thousand opt outs have been filed. The focus during the sunrise period has been on opting out European patents. For long-granted patents...

In the latest decision in the DexCom vs Abbott saga at the UPC, the Paris Local Division refused DexCom's three auxiliary requests to amend on the ground of added matter.

The New European Design Directive No. 2024/2823 (see here) came into force on 8 December 2024.

The Mannheim Local Division of the UPC recently issued two interesting decisions in related cases (UPC_CFI_159/2024 and UPC_CFI_162/2024) on the determination of the substantive law...

Microbial crop products are revolutionizing agriculture by reducing chemical dependency, but their complexity demands robust patent protection. European patent practice offers unique opportunities...

Claiming small entity status on a US application or patent provides a reduction in official fees. Most fees (e.g. basic filing fee, examination fee, search fee, etc.) are reduced by 50%, so the saving is significant.

Supplementary Protection Certificates are a vital tool for extending protection for authorised human and veterinary medicinal products. Yet the SPC landscape remains complex, fast-moving and often difficult to navigate.

With under a month remaining before the Unified Patent Court (UPC) opens and Unitary Patents become available, many practitioners are focussed on opting out their existing European patents...

"Medicinal cannabis" is often used as a broad catch-all term used for any kind of cannabis-based medicine used to provide a therapeutic effect, rather than for purely recreational use.

In G 3/14 the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal ruled on the extent to which amendments made in EPO Opposition proceedings may be examined for clarity, conciseness and support.

The Hague system is the international application and registration procedure for designs and offers a very attractive and efficient way of obtaining design protection in multiple states...

In this Insight we explore the requirement of originality for a copyright work in a song title and the scope of protection thereof in Love's Labour's Lost. Happy Bastille Day.

We reported in February 2019 that questions concerning double patenting had been referred to the Enlarged Board of Appeal by the Board of Appeal in case T0318/14.

It is fairly common at the EPO in the fields of chemistry and biotechnology for applicants/patentees to rely upon data that are not present in the application as filed...

Pioneering, astonishing and enthralling – these words perfectly describe the record-breaking performances we saw at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

EPO Technical Board of Appeal 3.5.07 has, in case T 0489/14 (Pedestrian simulation/CONNOR), referred questions to the Enlarged Board of appeal concerning what is to be considered technical in the fields of design and simulation.

More than fifty years since we set foot on the Moon, space exploration has recently stepped up a gear. NASA's latest space mission, Artemis, aims to establish a sustainable...

A patent is a legal monopoly granted by a government in return for public disclosure of an invention. A granted patent gives...

The projected increase in the global population means that current consumption patterns are unsustainable. In this Insight, we explore how advances in plant biotechnology...

On 5 November 2024, the Paris Central Division of the UPC upheld Juul Labs' EP 3504991 after NJOY Netherlands' revocation challenge. This fast-paced ruling, within 13 months, emphasizes the UPC's strict adherence to its front-loaded procedure, requiring early submission of full cases. The ruling highlights the importance of presenting all facts and arguments upfront, with limited scope for introducing new material later, aligning with similar practices in EPO appeal proceedings.