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A new study conducted by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) has found overwhelming levels of growth in terms of patent filings in the space industry. The report shows that since 2010, the number of patent families being filed each year […]

Inventions in biotechnology are subject to the same requirements as any other invention, i.e. they must be novel, inventive and industrially applicable. However due to the ethical implications of technology in this field there are some specific exclusions to patentability that apply. Animals and Plants Plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the […]

As the UEFA Euro 2020 and Copa América come to their conclusion, the use of technology on and beyond the pitch is more common than ever. It’s worth having a look at some of the patents protecting the latest innovations, from VAR and player tracking, to football balls and football shoes. The Video Assistant Referee […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]