New rules relating to the reimbursement of the appeal fee.

New rules relating to the reimbursement of the appeal fee. According to the decision of the Administrative Council of the EPO of 12 December 2019, Rule 103 EPC, which relates to the reimbursement of the appeal fee, was amended. 

Biotechnological inventions and the Nagoya Protocol: how to avoid pitfalls?

The entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol is one of the objectives set by the Strategic Plan for Biological Diversity adopted in 2010 by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The objective of this Protocol is laudable but thinking to and meeting all requirements due, at every stage of the research and of the development of a product resulting therefrom, may turn out to be difficult, especially for patent applicants. Little reminder on these requirements...

Elimination of official fees for annuities in the territory of the United Arab Emirates

Since recently, the Ministry of the Economy of the United Arab Emirates has abolished the official fees for annuities. Patents must however be renewed before the patent office, and we should continue to send instructions to our local agent in due course to avoid surcharges or lapse. Besides, the office will no longer deliver any official receipt.

Ouverture de la voie de dépôt direct (Original grant patent - OGP - system) et introduction d’un examen approfondi devant l’office national des brevets

Ouverture de la voie de dépôt direct (Original grant patent - OGP - system) et introduction d’un examen approfondi devant l’office national des brevets

Implementation of the SPC waiver by the INPI

Since July 1, 2019, Regulation (EC) No. 469/2009 concerning the supplementary protection certificate (SPC) for medicinal products has been amended to allow manufacturers of generics and biosimilars established in the European Union (EU) manufacture in the EU products, or medicines containing these products, for export to third countries outside of the EU, or for storage in the 6 months preceding SPC expiry.

New-Edition-of-the-Guidelines-for-Examination-at-the-EPO

The European Patent Office have amended the Guidelines for Examination. The new Guidelines are valid as of November 2019. They include many minor editorial changes but also other changes, which may have an influence on the proceedings at the EPO. In the following, we have selected some of these changes.

PPH programme with Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of Columbia extended

PPH programme with Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of Columbia extended. The European Patent Office has extended the PPH programme with the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of Columbia (SIC). The trial period for this programme, which was initially set up for three years from 1^st of October 2016, has been extended for a further three year period until 30 September 2022.

India : update on divisional application practice

Inde : update on divisional application practice - The sine qua non condition to ensure the conformity of a divisional application is the existence of a plurality of inventions in the parent application. A divisional application cannot be filed if there is no plurality of inventions in the parent application...

L'appréciation de l'intérêt légitime du titulaire d'un nom de domaine

Assessment of the domain name's owner legitimate interest - Court of cassation, commercial, financial and economic section, June 5th 2019, appeal n°17-22.132. The DATAXY company, registry office of domain names, had reserved on 2004 the following domains <saoneetloire.fr> and <saone-et-loire.fr>, both renewed on 2012. The domain <saône-et-loire.fr> was reserved on 2012...

Enlarged Board of Appeal Decision G 2/19 Oral proceedings at the Haar premises

Enlarged Board of Appeal Decision G 2/19 - Oral proceedings at the Haar premises. In the T831/17 case, the Appellant filed third party observations during examination and subsequently an appeal against the decision of grant by the Examining Division. He filed a request for oral proceedings, but objected inter alia to the oral proceedings being held in the recently created site at Haar/Munich.

Absence d'usage sérieux d'une marque : quels sont les justes motifs ?

Non-use and genuine use of a trademark : what are the proper reasons ? Court of appeal, May 17th 2019, Sas Affaires à faire c/ Sarl Chloelina - In the context of an invalidation action for non-use brought in front of the French courts, the owner of the contested trademark had tried to shrink from its legal obligation to prove the genuine use of his trademark by invoking unfair competition proceedings in progress...

PPH programme with Australian Patent Office extended

PPH programme with Australian Patent Office extended - The European Patent Office has extend the PPH programme with the Australian Patent Office. The trial period for this programme, which was initially set up for three years from 1^st of July 2016, has been extended for a further three year period until 30 June 2022.