The European Commission has implemented a fund to support European Union based small and medium-sized enterprises to obtain and exploit intellectual property rights, such as patents, trademarks and designs. The way the fund operates is slightly different from country to country. Generally, it provides support to SMEs of up to...
Artificial Intelligence Systems are not inventors in Europe
Shortly before Christmas, the European Patent Office’s Board of Appeal rejected an application to name an artificial intelligence system, Dabus, as an inventor on two patent applications EP 18 275 163 and EP 18 275 174. The full details of the decision have not emerged, but a brief press release gives some details of the case. The two...
A “Grace Period” for European Patents?
The European Patent Office has started a study to see whether a so-called "grace period" should be introduced into the European Patent system. Currently, the novelty requirement under the European Patent Convention (EPC) set out in Article 54 is an absolute novelty standard under which any disclosure made by the...
Developing a Patent Strategy
Developing a patent strategy - as part of a broader company strategy for protection intellectual property - should be an important component of the company's business plan. Experience shows, however, that for many companies the patent strategy is done "on the fly" and reactive, rather than executing a defined comprehensive...
Austria approves ratification of Unified Patent Court
The Austrian Bundesrat (the upper legislative chamber in the Austrian Parliament) did not object on 2 December to the decision of the Nationalrat (lower Chamber of the Austrian Parliament) regarding the Protocol to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court on Provisional Application (PPA). As reported earlier, the Nationalrat has already decided in favour of the ratification...
Slovenia ratifies EU Unified Patent Agreement
The single EU "Unitary patent" took a further step to being established on 15 October when Slovenia became the latest country to deposit the so-called "instrument of ratification" for the Protocol on the Provisional Application of Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement (PAP-Protocol) and the UPC Agreement itself. This ratification brought...
Patenting Software Modules
One of the biggest challenges in writing patents for computer-implemented inventions (CII) or "software patents" is the level of disclosure that is required. A patent examiner can reject the patent application in Europe for lack of enabling disclosure (as we have previously reported here) or for "indefiniteness" in the United...
Nutzung von Marken anderer Firmen ohne Zustimmung
Die Frage nach der Zulässigkeit taucht im geschäftlichen Alltag häufig auf. So auch kürzlich, als einer unserer Mandanten uns um rechtliche Einschätzung ersuchte. Unser Mandant entwickelt und vertreibt Software-Plattformen, die mittels Schnittstellen mit IT-Systemen anderer Unternehmen kommunizieren können. Zur Beschreibung des Verwendungszwecks seiner Software-Plattform wollte unser Mandant die angebundenen IT-Systeme beschreiben. Hierfür sollten die Marken (z.B....
What is a “Continuation” Patent Application?
A "continuation application" in the United States is an additional patent application filed by the same applicant as the original pending "parent" patent application to pursue different claims as in the parent application. The continuation application uses the same specification as the parent application and enjoys the same priority date...
Quantum Trademarks
Can you register "QNED" as a trademark in class 9 for, among other goods, TV sets or displays? Or does the acronym QNED means "quantum nano (light-)emitting diode? This was the question decided by the Appeal Board of the European IP Office recently in case R721/2021-4 (Details linked here). The...