The IPKat BLOG – Page 102

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A new study on the options for a unified supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) system in Europe!

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/a-new-study-on-options-for-unified.html For all of those working with Supplementary Protection Certificates, the need for a review of the system is self-explanatory. The complexity of the legislation and case law, the absence of uniform expertise in the national agencies, and the diverging approaches in examining SPCs that result in diverging decisions and... Continue reading
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Abrasive outcome on over-broad ranges for 3M in Saint-Gobain dispute re-emphasizes importance of narrow dependent claims

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/abrasive-outcome-on-over-broad-ranges.html Any litigator knows that sometimes life is not fair. With all the best practice, best arguments and right on your side, you still fall down. The Patent Gods aren not always benevolent forces, however. This seemed to be the story of 3M in its litigation with Saint-Gobain who defeated... Continue reading
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EPO Board of Appeal dismisses step-by-step inventive step attack for being based on hindsight and cherry-picking (T 1349/19)

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/epo-board-of-appeal-dismisses-step-by.html A recent case from the Boards of Appeal (T 1349/19) rejected a lack of inventive step argument that the skilled person would follow an obvious series of steps at arrive at the invention. The Board of Appeal further dismissed a further lack of inventive step argument based on the juxtaposition and... Continue reading
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Book review: Disrupting Africa – Technology, law and development

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/book-review-disrupting-africa.html In his TEDxEuston talk, Telling the African story, Komla Dumor argues that “there must be a balance…or else don’t patronise me”. In the light of all the funding news and successes of tech startups across the African continent, this recommendation offers the right introduction to this Kat’s belated but... Continue reading
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The UPC announces its judicial appointments and elections to the Praesidium

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-upc-announces-its-judicial.html The leafy premises of the Bundespatentgericht, to be shared by the Central division of the UPC in Munich Earlier this week, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) took a step closer towards fruition with the announcement of its judicial appointments and composition of its Praesidium. A total of 85 judges, comprising... Continue reading
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EBA hints at accepting “lack of implausibility” standard for inventive step (G2/21)

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/eba-hints-at-accepting-lack-of.html The Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) has issued its preliminary opinion in G2/21 on plausibility. The final decision in this referral has the potential to either lower or increase the plausibility requirement in EPO inventive step analysis. The non-binding preliminary opinion offers a glimpse into what the EBA is... Continue reading
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How a changed attitude towards secrecy and the contents of letters helped create the “Republic of Letters” and bring on the modern world

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/how-changed-attitude-towards-secrecy.html There are few types of literary work for which copyright law has been less relevant than the letter (as in correspondence). How many Kat readers have given legal advice or engaged in a copyright infringement case involving the contents of a letter? [For Kat readers under the age of... Continue reading
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AG Szpunar advises CJEU to rule that streaming platforms are not liable (unless they have intentionally applied ineffective geo-blocks) if their users use VPNs

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/ag-szpunar-advises-cjeu-to-rule-that.html Access attempt … Is the operator of a streaming platform liable for copyright infringement if users of its service use a VPN to access content that in principle would not be accessible from a certain territory, given geo-blocking restrictions implemented by the platform operator? This is the key issue... Continue reading
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Never too Late: If you missed the IPKat the past weeks!

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-past.html It has been a busy few weeks for the IPKat and it’s about time to take a look at what we have covered during this time:- Patents The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) reported that the European Patent Office (EPO) Administrative Council decided to abolish the 10-day rule,... Continue reading
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Can Vuitton’s Damier Azur pattern be a trade mark? General Court rejects claim of acquired distinctiveness through use

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/10/can-vuittons-damier-azur-pattern-be.html Vuitton’s Damier Azur Is Louis Vuitton’s Damier Azur pattern distinctive enough to be a trade mark? If this seems like a déjà vu, it is because it is: indeed, back in 2020 the EU General Court (GC) already considered this question (T-105/19, covered on The IPKat here). At that... Continue reading