In Belgium, descriptive seizures (called “saisie-description” in Belgium) are long-standing ex parte procedures to collect evidence of infringement. When a Court grants a saisie request, the said authorisation can later be opposed by the seized party. The seized party can in particular argue that IP right invoked was not prima facie valid. By the time a decision is issued in the procedure launched by the seized party (and in the potential subsequent appeal procedures), the right holder may already have been given access to the report describing the evidence collected or the report may have bee ..read more

It is well known that the EPO Boards of Appeal take a strict line on admissibility of new elements of the appeal case under Articles 12 and 13 RPBA. But if the request to hold new elements inadmissible is itself filed late, the admissibility of the inadmissibility request may be questioned, see e.g. T 500/16 reason 6.2. And why stop there? Discussion of the inadmissibility of a request to hold inadmissible a request to hold a new element inadmissible is not unheard of. If all this is making your head spin, then help may be at hand with T 1006/21. While mainly focussing on admissibility of req ..read more

There are now three interesting developments, albeit in quite different areas, which have in common the effort to avoid stepping on banana skins on the path towards a more unified patent system. The first one, published last week, was a decision by the Court of Appeal (CoA) itself, which took the opportunity to clarify that a three member panel consisting only of legally qualified judges neither contravenes Art 9(1) UPCA nor violates Art 6 of the European Human Rights Convention (EHRC). Why was this an issue? Because Art. 9(1) UPCA reads as follows: Any panel of the Court of Appeal shall sit ..read more

As of December 1st, 2023, Brazil is leading G20, wherein one of the three priorities to be addressed is tackling climate change, with a focus on energy transition, in addition to promoting sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions[1]. At this same date, the BRPTO launched a new commission, namely: sustainability and biotechnology commission (COSBIO), which will deal, among other things, with the Green Patents Program, which focuses in expediting the examination of patent applications related to environmentally friendly inventions and consequently encouraging ..read more

In a revocation action the patent may be amended by the patent proprietor. According to Rule 30 RoP this should be done with an application; for subsequent amendments the explicit approval of the court should be sought. In the present case the patent proprietor tried to introduce amendments that had also been filed in another UPC proceeding and also requested the joining of these cases. Case date: 27 February 2024 Case number: CFI 255/20237184/2024 Court: UPC Central Division of the Court of First Instance Paris A full summary of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law More fro ..read more

Introduction It is common for parties to English patent litigation to settle their differences after the first instance judgment on the merits from the Court.  This is for several reasons including the thoroughness of the Patents Court Judges, the Court of Appeal’s approach to issues such as obviousness (where only an error of principle will be overturned) and finally the cost both to winner and loser in terms of money and management time. Settlement agreements between parties often provide for a “no-challenge” clause pursuant to which the parties agree not to contest the validity of each ..read more

On December 30, 2023, the Brazilian government, through Provisional Measure No. 1.205/2023, announced the national program “Mobilidade Verde e Inovação – Green Mobility and Innovation” (MOVER), with the objective of expanding the sustainability requirements for automobiles and stimulating the development of new technologies in the areas of mobility and logistics. The program, conceived by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), will promote the expansion of investments in energy efficiency, include minimum recycling limits in vehicle manufacturing and charge ..read more

With 1.5 billion chickens and 234.3 million cows, Brazil is an important market for the animal health industry. According to the National Syndicate of the Industry of Animal Health Products (SINDAN, in Portuguese), in 2022, 700 million doses of vaccine were manufactured in Brazil for herbivorous animals, and 21 billion for aviary. The Brazilian animal health market generated a net revenue of 10.363 billion reais in 2022 (approximately USD 2.11 billion)—a growth of 13% in relation to 2021. With these strong numbers, it will come as no surprise to readers that Brazil is a key market for investme ..read more

Having examined the JUB texts relating to UPC “saisie-contrefaçon” (see here), it’s time to look at the initial case law. Of course, the existence of only two cases is insufficient to draw general conclusions, but we can already see how the system works in practice, and draw some conclusions. The first two proceedings were initiated in countries with well-established seizure systems: Italy and France. Today, we will study the Italian case (UPC, Milan Local Division, 14 June 2024, procedure n° 500982/2023, “OERLIKON” case). This case involved OERLIKON TEXTILE against HIMSON and BHAGAT GROUP, tw ..read more

The “saisie-contrefaçon“, that French-style “Anton Piller Order”, but obtained in the blink of an eye, to such an extent that the whole world is still in awe; our Marylin of French patent law has made her discreet entry into the JUB. It may come as a surprise to the reader that I use the expression “saisie-contrefaçon“, when the UPCA text specifically provides for measures to preserve evidence. But never mind, I’m not afraid of being branded an irreducible Gallic, I’m used to it and, after all, “saisie-contrefaçon” is a pot I fell into when I was “little”. It must be admitted, however, that be ..read more