The IPKat BLOG – Page 55

In: The IPKat BLOG

G 2/21 does not permit armchair inventing (T 0258/21)

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/10/g-221-does-not-permit-armchair.html Interpretations of G 2/21 by the EPO Boards of Appeal have so far been reasonably patentee-friendly. Boards of Appeal have interpreted G 2/21 as permitting patentees to rely on technical effects for which the application as filed is completely silent (IPKat, IPKat). The recent decision in T 0258/21, by contrast, is the first interpretation of G 2/21 leading... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

[Guest post] Reciprocity in copyright law

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/10/guest-post-reciprocity-in-copyright-law.html The IPKat has received and is pleased to host the following guest contribution by Katfriend Henning Hartwig (Bardehle Pagenberg) on the Swedish Patent and Market Court of Appeal’s recent referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling pursuant to Article 267 TFEU... Continue reading
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Adding matter by cherry-picking from separate embodiments: Philip Morris v BAT ([2023] EWHC 2616 (Pat))

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/10/adding-matter-by-cherry-picking-from.html In the recent UK case of Philip Morris v BAT [2023] EWHC 2616 (Pat), His Honour Justice Hacon (Hacon HHJ) considered the standard for invalidity due to added matter. Invalidity in view of added matter is a common patent pitfall in Europe (IPKat). The EPO takes a hard-line against amendments that cherry... Continue reading
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[Guest post] Emergent works without foundations

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/10/guest-post-emergent-works-without.html The IPKat has received and is happy to host the following guest contribution by Katfriend Matt Blaszczyk on copyright protection of “authorless” works. The post summarizes the main findings of Matt’s article ‘Impossibility of Emergent Works’ Protection in U.S. and EU Copyright Law’, recently published in the North Carolina... Continue reading
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Tangfastic news! EUIPO rules on distinctiveness of gummy bears (R 872/2023-4)

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/10/tangfastic-news-euipo-rules-on.html In a recent decision (R 872/2023-4), which is reassuring for rightsholders in 2D and 3D figurative marks, the Fourth Board of Appeal (the Board) of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) found that the figurative mark consisting of an image of a gummy bear met the minimum degree of distinctive character... Continue reading
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EPO maintains ST.26 sequence listing requirement for divisionals but compromises on excess page fees

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/10/epo-maintains-st26-sequence-listing.html The implementation of the new sequence listing format ST.26 by the EPO raises added matter risks for applicants. The ST.26 standard came into force in July 2022 and applies to all new European applications filed after this date, including divisionals. The applicant may therefore be required to convert the ST.25... Continue reading
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“Competition Law in the Pharmaceutical Sector” returns to Brussels with IPKat readers’ discount

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/10/competition-law-in-pharmaceutical.html Pharma Kat The IPKat has learned that the conference, organized by InformaConnect, on “Competition Law in the Pharmaceutical Sector” will return to Brussels on 5 December. This year’s programme, which features 27 speakers (from the European Commission, Novartis, GSK, Linklaters, Johnson & Johnson, and more), will cover developments affecting... Continue reading
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CJEU has received first reference on DSM Directive

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/10/cjeu-has-received-first-reference-on.html The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has received its first request for preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of Directive (EU) 2019/790 (DSM Directive). The referred questions in C-575/23 are not yet available officially but may be accessed in the materials of the national Belgian case that... Continue reading
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The Birkenstock pattern mark saga continues

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-birkenstock-pattern-mark-saga.html Birkenstock’s sole pattern is quite well-known and has been the subject of several decision in the EU. As has been reported here, Birkenstock’s pattern mark was considered to lack distinctiveness as an EU and Benelux trade mark. Now, the German Patent Court confirmed that a position mark showing the... Continue reading
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5-year imprisonment for trade mark infringement disproportionate and contrary to EU law, says CJEU

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/10/5-year-imprisonment-for-trade-mark.html This week, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a preliminary ruling on enforcement of IP rights (case C-655/21). In its request to the CJEU, the referring Bulgarian court had asked whether Bulgarian criminal penalties for trade mark infringement comply with Directive 2004/48/EC and the Charter... Continue reading