News
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Bespoke Brexit and Intellectual Property – business as usual
26 January 2017Read more >Following UK Prime Minister, Theresa May’s speech of 17 January 2017 and subsequent comments, we now have greater clarity regarding the “bespoke” nature of the UK’s leaving of the European Union. There is no doubt, following her speech, that the intent of the UK executive government is that the UK will no longer be a […]
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Unitary Patent Package expected to enter into force in December 2017
16 January 2017Read more >An official statement from the Unified Patent Court (UPC) website, published today (found here), has outlined a rough timetable for the UPC becoming operational. If all continues as expected, the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court (UPCA) and the Court itself should be up and running in December 2017. This would mean that the ‘Unitary […]
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Court of Appeal provides clarification “about” numerical values
3 January 2017Read more >The use of numerical ranges and values to accurately describe the amount of ingredients present in a composition or formulation is a widely used approach in patent specifications, especially in the field of pharmaceuticals and formulation chemistry. Patentees need to clearly define the limits of various active ingredients, excipients and the like in order to […]
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Michael Jaeger unpacks HMRC’s report on the initial uptake of the UK’s Patent Box
23 December 2016Read more >The UK’s Patent Box came into effect on 1 April 2013. Under the scheme UK companies are able to pay a reduced rate of Corporation Tax on certain profits derived from patented technology. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) published its first report¹ on the uptake of the scheme on 14 September 2016, and that report […]
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EPO puts brakes on essentially biological processes
15 December 2016Read more >In frustrating news for the biotech industry, we can report that the European Patent Office (EPO) has decided to suspend all examination and opposition proceedings for inventions concerning plants/animals that are obtained by means of essentially biological processes. This follows a recent non-binding Notice from the European Commission (EC) regarding the interpretation of certain aspects […]
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The Final Twist: Rubik’s Cube Trade Mark Declared Invalid by EU Court
1 December 2016Read more >On 10 November 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided that the famous Rubik’s Cube could not be a registered trade mark. This marks the end of a ten year tussle over the registrability of one of the world’s best-selling toys of all time. The trade mark in question is Seven […]
