There have been mutterings and papers for some time about the EPO restricting the filing of divisional applications. They were viewed by some at the EPO as a thorn in the side of 3rd party rights. It is now official – the EPO Administrative Council met 26 March 2009 and considered the filing of divisional […]
On April 1, the European Patent Office changes the fee structure for filing applications and entering the European regional phase of PCT applications. For most applicants, this will mean an overall increase in fees paid. What are the changes? There will now be a single designation fee of €500, irrespective of the number of states […]
The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office gave a second (and final!) rejection of the human embryonic stem cell patent by University of Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). See Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, Case Number: G 0002/06. Deciding that it would be against the “public order” to grant the patent since […]
The European Commission has published its preliminary report on the competition inquiry into the pharmaceutical sector, which concludes that competition in this industry does not work as well as it should. According to the preliminary findings there is evidence that brand name companies engaged in delaying or blocking market entry of competing medicines. Delaying tactics […]
Jon Gowshall, a UK patent attorney at Forresters, has just let us know that the French ratification of the London Agreement was deposited yesterday, 29th January 2008. The Agreement will come into force on 1st May 2008, and will apply to all European Patents granted after that day. What is the London Agreement? The London […]
The European Patent Convention (EPC) has been revised for the first time since its inception in 1973. The revised version of the Convention, known as EPC 2000, will come into force on December 13, 2007.These changes will bring the EPC into line with recent developments in International Law. These changes will affect European patent applications […]
Substantial Cost Reductions for Validating European Patents The cost of obtaining patent protection in Europe is set to reduce significantly early next year thanks to the imminent implementation of the London Agreement. At present a European patent application must be prosecuted before the European Patent Office in any one of the three official languages, English, […]
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Editor-in-Chief Barista Stephen Jenei is a patent attorney and Owner of Jenei LLC. When not serving up patent chat over a steaming cup of java, he's handling a diverse intellectual property practice in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and chemical fields. More info @ Jenei LLC
