News

Purifying a compound or polymer is an important step during product development, with seemingly small changes potentially having a pronounced effect on product performance.  Yet chemical purity is often overlooked as a source of patentable inventions.  ‘Purity patents’ can, however, be used to extend the patent lifecycle for a product many years beyond expiry of […]

The Brexit transition period came to an end on 31 December 2020 and the real effects on IP rights of the UK leaving the EU took effect from 1 January 2021. For detailed questions, your Withers & Rogers patent, trade mark or design attorney can advise you on specific cases. The brief message is that […]

With effect from Tuesday 31st August 2021, the London offices of Withers & Rogers LLP and Withers & Rogers Renewals LLP will be relocating. Full address and contact details for our new offices can be found below. New address: 2 London Bridge, London, SE1 9RA, United Kingdom. Our London telephone and fax numbers will remain […]

With the recent announcement that German President has approved the UPC (Unified Patent Court) agreement, the UPC preparatory committee has announced estimated timings for the start of UPC operations. The committee has indicated that it currently expects the UPC to commence operations around mid-2022. Before the UPC becomes fully operational it will first enter a […]

German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has now approved the UPC (Unified Patent Court) agreement. This constitutes the final step for the UPC agreement to be brought into German law. The UPC will allow companies and inventors to protect their inventions in at least 16 EU countries in a single court action should the system be implemented. The […]

Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBRs) are rights granted to the breeder of a new variety of plant to give the breeder exclusive control over the propagating material (including seeds, cuttings, divisions and tissue culture) and harvested material (cut flowers, fruit, foliage) of the new variety. Acts done by third parties for non-commercial, private or experimental purposes or for the purpose of breeding a new variety […]