News
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Decision of the Federal Patent Court 25 W (pat) 526/21 KÖLNER DOM of 19 January 2023
27 July 2023Read more >“KÖLNER DOM” cannot be protected as a trade mark The “KÖLNER DOM” or Cologne Cathedral, is a world-famous cathedral and a very popular cultural site in Germany. The applicant had applied for the registration of “KÖLNER DOM” as a trade mark in order to commercialise the name for various goods and services, including clothing, souvenirs, […]
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New Referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (G1/23)
7 July 2023Read more >On 27 June, a new referral was made to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) in case T 0438/19. The referral seeks clarification on whether a commercially available product, with an undisclosed composition or internal structure, should be excluded from the state of the art for patentability within the meaning of Article 54(2) EPC. “State […]
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Plausibility hurdle in the UK shifted up a notch, as invalidity of BMS patent confirmed by Court of Appeal
22 May 2023Read more >Summary The UK Court of Appeal (CoA) confirmed the invalidity of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)’s apixaban patent on 4 May 2023.1 The appeal decision centred on the question of plausibility and is the first UK decision to consider plausibility since the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal’s decision G2/21. The CoA held that BMS had not presented […]
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Success at the Federal Court of Justice
19 April 2023Read more >The Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) comments on the extent to which the installation of spare parts leads to a new production displacing the exhaustion effect. On 8 November 2022, the Federal Court of Justice delivered its judgement (8 November 2022, X ZR 10/20) in the legal dispute concerning the question of a new […]
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New appointment in Paris supports W&R’s continued European service
28 March 2023Read more >Marie-Claude Pellegrini has been appointed as a W&R partner and brings a wealth of experience in specialist areas of aeronautics, automotive and advanced technologies. Based in our Paris office, Marie-Claude is joining the Withers & Rogers partnership to develop our growing French offering in a client-led strategic move, which is part of the firm’s broader […]
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EPO referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (G2/21) – Post-published evidence of a technical effect
24 March 2023Read more >In 2021, a referral was made to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) in case T116/18 concerning whether post-published evidence (i.e., information not available until after the filing date of a patent application) can be used to demonstrate a technical effect in the assessment of inventive step. The EBA issued its preliminary opinion in October […]
