As is common with any specialist area, patent law is absolutely full of jargon. Even before you consider the care that must be taken when drafting a patent specification navigating the patent lexicon can be a minefield. Patent professionals are often trying to express a significant amount of meaning in a succinct way. When you are in a office full of people who spend their time doing the same job as you it is possible to say a lot in only a few words as they can interpret your explanation...
What a journey from its humble origins in Steve Job's garage in 1976 to the first trillion dollar public company. Brand loyalty goes a long way in a highly competitive market.
The EUIPO has released its list of the top 25 e-users for the second quarter of the year. We are pleased to report that Boult Wade Tennant LLP has again been included and is ranked as the second highest UK firm for e-filed applications and oppositions.
This week the NHS has published details of the savings made in the last financial year by substituting 10 of the most expensive medicines for biosimilars or generic products. These savings total in excess of £300 million. The NHS has also pledged to build on this achievement by making further savings of around £200 million this financial year. It is clear from these figures that market launch of biosimilars and generics is essential to allow our NHS to deliver high quality healthcare with the...
We live in a time of rapid innovation, where new ideas and technologies make the transition from mere concepts to products on the shelf in impressively short timescales. As consumers, we benefit immensely from this continued research and development by being granted access to a wide variety of new and exciting ideas and products. However, it is perhaps inevitable that as companies and individuals continue to innovate, malicious players will ride the coat-tails of successful products with...
A good patent attorney must have a range of skills. Obviously, technical skills are vital. You have to be able to understand the technology you are seeking to protect. You also need good client facing skills - whether you work in private practice or in house, you need to be able to work well with your clients to ensure that expectations are aligned and commercial goals are met. Another vital requirement, of course, is knowledge of the law and an aptitude to keep learning as the law constantly...
It may seem like déjà vu, but the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has this week handed down a judgment (C-121/17) addressing the question of what constitutes a “product protected by a basic patent in force” in accordance with Article 3(a) of the SPC Regulation. This question has of course been referred to the CJEU on multiple previous occasions. However, as noted by the UK High Court in Teva (UK) Ltd v Gilead Sciences Inc [2017] EWHC 13 (Pat) (the UK case giving rise to this...
As a chemistry specialist my clients tend to work in labs rather than garden sheds but that hasn't stopped Little Miss Inventor. The book telling the story of the 36th Little Miss character was released earlier this year on International Women's Day, and it wasn't a moment too soon. This great addition to the Mr Men and Little Miss collection is challenging the male STEM stereotype and provides a needed role model. In 2015 WIPO, the organisation responsible for managing international patent...
I'm very pleased to see that it will be possible to designate Canada in international design applications under the Hague Agreement from 5 November 2018. With the recent ratification of the Hague Agreement by the UK, international design applications are likely to be an important tool for UK businesses to obtain protection in the UK and EU after Brexit. With further countries such as Canada joining, it will make it cheaper and easier for those businesses to also expand their protection to...
Thanks to CITMA for the update provided on this matter on Friday. Confirmation that protection for EUTM registrations and Community registered and unregistered designs will continue in the UK post-Brexit automatically and free of charge is excellent news. This short Government update however does not yet address pending applications and ongoing disputes which are currently under discussion. Watch this space!
On July 2018, the European Parliament adopted a resolution about 3D printing entitled: “Three-dimensional printing: intellectual property rights and civil liability” with 631 votes in favour, 27 against and 19 abstentions. The document examines the legal issues associated with 3D printing, particularly with concern for protecting IP rights and civil liability. The European Parliament’s Committee on Legal affairs states: “3D printing also carries the risk of facilitating counterfeiting, not...
UK luxury fashion retailer Burberry has made the headlines for destroying £28m worth of products during the last year (over £90m over the last 5 years) in order to protect the luxury status of its brand. It has drawn criticism from environmentalists and social media users alike for not respecting the labour and natural resources that go into making their products. However, this is a common problem in the fashion sector and it appears to continue to be difficult to strike a balance between...
When it comes to amendment, European patent prosecution is infamously strict, and EPO examiners are ever vigilant against “added subject-matter”. They scrutinise every amendment an applicant makes to a claim to ensure that the amendment does not extend beyond the content of the application as originally filed. After all, they reason, why should an amended claim have a scope of protection different to what the applicant originally disclosed in the specification? However, it is not just the EPO...
A rigorous pan-European system exists for qualifying as a European Patent Attorney. Once a year, simultaneously across Europe, candidates sit identical exams albeit in different languages (English, French or German). The pass rates for the final examinations are low relative to the figures for many other professions. Historically, UK candidates have fared very well when compared to those from other European countries. The numbers for the 2018 exams have recently been released. The published...
When looking in from the outside the world of Intellectual Property may well feel overwhelming, and startups or individuals with limited experience of IP may consider leaving this until later. However, launching your product and then seeking protection for it may cost you the chance to obtain several types of available rights. While copyright exists from the moment the work is created, if an invention is disclosed before a patent is filed protection will be unavailable in many...
