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  • Amendments to the PatModG

    8 July 2021

    Now that the last reform of Intellectual Property by the Act on the Simplification and Modernisation of German Patent Law was more than 10 years ago, it was time to review whether the current legal regulations still meet the requirements that effective and balanced protection of Intellectual Property Rights demands. In patent and utility model […]

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  • When are Diagnostic Methods Patentable at the EPO?

    7 July 2021

    Both the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the UK Patents Act prohibit the patenting of diagnostic methods practised on the human or animal body[1]. The intention behind this exclusion is to avoid patent infringement being a concern for medical and veterinary practitioners when carrying out diagnostic examinations. However, in practice the exclusion is interpreted quite […]

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  • Patent Term Extension

    23 June 2021

    Patent Term Extension – Supplementary Protection Certificates A Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) is a special extension to the period of protection provided by a patent. SPCs are only available for patents relating to active ingredients in medicinal, veterinary or plant protection products. The purpose of an SPC is to compensate the patent holder for the […]

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  • Plausibility – An Important Consideration

    9 June 2021

    The concept of plausibility is not mentioned in either the UK Patents Act or the European Patent Convention. However, it has become an increasingly common talking point and has featured in numerous decisions of both the UK courts and the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office. The requirement for “plausibility” can be considered […]

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  • Important to know your enemies? Not according to the EPO.

    14 May 2021

    Ever been attacked by a “straw man”? No? Well that might be because this normally happens only in horror movies. Nevertheless, to a patent attorney this could be a real possibility when representing clients in opposition proceedings at the EPO. It has long been established in EPO case law that an opposition against a European […]

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  • Protecting antibodies

    12 May 2021

    The fundamental importance of antibodies can be seen in the pharmaceutical industry’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Antibodies are a vital part of the adaptive immune system, enabling the recognition of a plethora of different antigens. In healthcare, the specific binding of antibodies to a particular target protein means that they are also immensely important […]

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