News

Double patenting at the European Patent Office

Double patenting relates to a situation where two patents are granted to the same proprietor in the same country for a single invention. There is no explicit prohibition of double patenting in the European Patent Convention (EPC). However, the EPO have taken account of principals of procedural law generally recognised in the contracting states.

T 0116/18 - a new plausibility threshold for post-filing data?

At the European Patent Office (EPO), the Board of Appeal in T 0116/18 appears set to refer to the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) the question of whether, for the acknowledgement of inventive step, a technical effect must be made plausible from the disclosure of an application as filed (so called “ab initio plausibility”). In particular, the referral aims to clarify whether post-published data can be used in the situation where the proof of the effect is exclusively provided by such post-published data.

Secerna gives a taste of life as a patent attorney

Funding for SMEs under the UK IPO's IP Audits Plus Scheme

Is your business sitting on hidden assets? Get expert advice on securing and leveraging your intellectual property. Discover how an IP audit with Secerna can benefit your business.

UK Supreme Court and NHS damages

On 2 July 2021, the UK Supreme Court dismissed an appeal brought by the Secretary of State for Health and the NHS Business Services Authority (“The NHS”) against a Court of Appeal decision to dismiss their claims against Servier Laboratory Ltd (Servier) under the tort of causing loss by unlawful means – a highly unusual and uncommon tort claim in patent litigation.

New EPO Legal Board of Appeal Decision J0001/20

J 0001/20 is the latest decision handed down from the European Patent Office’s (EPO) Legal Board of Appeal (‘the Board’), which hears appeals primarily concerning procedural matters in respect of European patent applications and, more generally, whether EPO practices comply with the actual legal text of the European Patent Convention (EPC).

Dermot Roche in profile

European Innovation Scoreboard - bad news for Ireland?

The European Commission released the annual report on research and innovation across the EU in June. This report looks at innovation by analysing various factors, such as people skills, financial investment, SME activity, and resulting employment. Innovation performance is considered across the EU as a whole and also for each individual member state.

UK Patent Box Update

The UK Patent Box scheme enables companies to pay a reduced rate of 10% Corporation Tax on profits derived from exploiting patented inventions. The aim of the scheme is to incentivise UK companies to commercialise their patented inventions in the UK.