WP IP

News and commentary on IP issues

Validation of European Patents in Laos

LaosFlag
 The European Patent Office has announced that the validation agreement with Laos signed in May 2024 will enter into force on 1 April 2025. From this date, it will be possible to obtain protection in 46 countries by means of a single European patent: - The 39 Member States - The single remaining Extension State (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - ...
Continue reading
  208 Hits
Tags:
European Patent Office EPO European Patent validation Laos
Tweet
208 Hits

European Patent Office Launches New Fee Reduction Scheme to Support Micro-Entities

money
In good news for individuals and smaller businesses with little experience of the European patent system, the European Patent Office will shortly be introducing additional discounts on some of its fees for certain applicants. However, there are strict and complex requirements on eligibility and caution should be used in deciding whether or not...
Continue reading
  3624 Hits
Tags:
European Patent Office EPO EPO Fees Fee Reduction Micro entity
Tweet
3624 Hits

European Patent Office Fees increase from 1 April 2024

Fee Increase
The European Patent Office has announced increases to a number of its fees. The increases become effective on any payment made from 1 April 2024 onward. Many, such as the increases to the search, examination and grant fees are modest. However, the renewal fees payable in years 3-5 of a European patent application will increase&n...
Continue reading
  3712 Hits
Tags:
European Patent Office EPO 1 April 2024 renewal fees fee increase
Tweet
3712 Hits

Right to priority in European Patent Applications - EPO decides there is a rebuttable presumption of validity

PriorityRight
The Enlarged Board of Appeal at the European Patent Office (EPO) has now issued its written decision in consolidated cases G1/22 and G2/22. The Enlarged Board of Appeal concludes that the EPO is competent to assess priority entitlement and that there is a rebuttable presumption that an applicant claiming priority in accordance with the formal requi...
Continue reading
  2360 Hits
Tags:
EPO G1/22 G2/22 priority validity
Tweet
2360 Hits

Plausibility at the EPO - Enlarged Board of Appeal decision G2/21

HummingbirdHawkMoth
The long-awaited Enlarged Board of Appeal decision G2/21 has finally been issued. It confirms that evidence submitted in support of inventive step cannot be disregarded solely on the ground that such evidence had not been public before the filing date and was only filed after that date. The background to this Decision and the referral to the E...
Continue reading
  2550 Hits
Tags:
sufficiency EPO Plausibility inventive step evidence
Tweet
2550 Hits

Practical Tips for Patenting Antibodies in Europe

Antibody
The patenting of proteins is well established in Europe as long as they meet the requirements of novelty and inventive step.Antibodies are a specific type of protein, and to obtain useful patent protection for these, there are specific requirements to take into consideration.We have previously written about the European Patent Office's Guidelines f...
Continue reading
  3106 Hits
Tags:
European Patent Office patent antibodies Guidelines EPO
Tweet
3106 Hits

Plausibility - EPO stays proceedings in view of Enlarged Board Referral

moth-g635cf3fe4_1920
The European Patent Office has announced a stay of all examination/opposition proceedings involving applications/patents in which the assessment of inventive step is exclusively based on evidence that was not publicly available before the filing date, and in which the decision depends entirely on the outcome of Referral G2/21 (Plausibility), u...
Continue reading
  4264 Hits
Tags:
European Patent Office EPO plausability patents inventive step
Tweet
4264 Hits

Claiming Antibodies in European Patent Applications

Immune
In the past year, we have all heard more about antibodies in the general news than anyone ever desired. When we are exposed to pathogens, antibodies form a vital part of our immune systems in protecting us from deadly diseases.Isolated from the body or synthetically produced, antibodies can have many uses and are particularly important as therapeut...
Continue reading
  4542 Hits
Tags:
European Patent Office patent antibodies Guidelines EPO
Tweet
4542 Hits