United KingdomRecent developments in patent law
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Recent decisions from the High Court and the Patent Office have shed light on several topical patent law issues. In a decision concerning the validity of a sandwich packaging patent, the High Court held that a failure to apply the structured approach in Pozzoli did not mean that there had been an error of principle in the Patent Office’s decision. For the second year in a row, the High Court also heard a rare case on employee compensation, this time providing clarification of the employee compensation calculation under the Patents Act 1977 in cases where a patent assignment or licence has been made to a connected person, such as a subsidiary of the employer. Finally, the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that prior disclosure to a customer rendered a patent invalid.
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