Insights

The European Patent Office (EPO) has published its latest statistics for European patent applications in 2019. In addition to overall surges in the fields of digital communication (+19.6% over 2018) and computer technology (+10.2%) the data shows a continued growth in European patent applications filed by UK companies. The total number of applications originating in...

In the latest instalment of a prolonged and litigious saga between Eli Lilly and Genentech, the UK High Court has ruled that, with regard to their divisional patent, Genentech are estopped from revisiting arguments settled during litigation of their parent patent. However, proceedings relating to the divisional patent have been permitted to continue for undecided...

The EPO’s Board of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against revocation of European patent EP2771468, belonging to The Broad Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and President and Fellows of Harvard College, which covered the pioneering gene editing technology CRISPR. The patent had been revoked by the Opposition Division for lack of novelty following a finding...

As was widely reported last year, a series of patent applications has been filed in the name of Dr Stephen Thaler, for inventions allegedly invented by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) called “DABUS”. These applications were filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office, the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and the European Patent Office...

Although substantive law regarding the grant of patents is largely harmonized across Europe, post grant infringement and validity procedures differ from country to country. In particular, unlike other European countries, Germany considers infringement and validity in separate (‘bifurcated’) proceedings. Germany has the largest economy in Europe and more than half of all patent infringement cases...