News

The new legislation governing Design rights in the European Union, the European Design Regulation (EUDR), enters into force on 1 May 2025. Several changes come into force with the new Regulation, although there are many further provisions that require implementing secondary legislation and will only be applicable later, in 2026 and 2027. Here are the […]

On 25 February, 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered a significant ruling in the case of BSH Hausgeräte GmbH v. Electrolux AB – C-330/22. This decision addresses the jurisdictional boundaries for EU courts, seemingly allowing them to handle infringement actions relating to both EU and non-EU patent rights, which could streamline litigation […]

In the run-up to the oral proceedings for G 1/23 (“Solar cell”), due to be held on 12 March 2025, we consider the potential changes in practice at the European Patent Office (EPO) in relation to the disclosures of irreproducible products. Previously, in G 1/92, a cumulative test was set in order to determine whether […]

The UK Court of Appeal (CoA) recently issued its ruling in Merck Serono v Comptroller, confirming that supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) are not available for second medical uses of pharmaceutically active products. The case concerned Merck’s SPC application for cladribine, used to treat multiple sclerosis. The UK Patent Office, in accordance with Article 3(d) of […]

In December 2024, the European Patent Office (EPO) Technical Board of Appeal issued a decision in a compelling case (T 1841/23) that involved a late intervention into accelerated appeal proceedings, with the added drama of parallel infringement proceedings at the Unified Patent Court (UPC). The parallel proceedings The appeal was filed against a decision by […]

Costa Rica has recently signed a landmark validation agreement with the European Patent Office (EPO). This means that Costa Rica will soon become the first country in Central America to allow European patents to be validated within its jurisdiction. Once the validation agreement is in force, Costa Rica will become the seventh EPO validation state, […]