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European Union

Controversial EPO patentability intervention is unlikely to succeed, experts claim

Attorneys say agency’s president has no legal basis for asking the Enlarged Board of Appeal to review the finding that plants produced by biological processes are patentable.

Controversial EPO patentability intervention is unlikely to succeed, experts claim
3 Apr 2019

IAM’s Auto IP series taking place against a backdrop of major change

With so many issues emerging across the entire supply chain, the sector’s IP leaders will be sharing their thoughts and insights at events in Detroit and Munich next month

29 Mar 2019

CJEU rules out SPCs for new drug formulations, but leaves uncertainty over therapeutic uses

Following the court’s Abraxis decision, life sciences face a more restrictive interpretation of which products qualify for supplementary protection certificates.

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13 Mar 2019

Why the proposed EU Copyright Directive is good news for rights holders and creators

The controversial legislation is set to come into force this year and will place extra burdens on service providers, while heralding a new, more interventionist approach to the regulation of online platforms in the digital economy Read more

8 Mar 2019

CJEU asked to resolve long-standing SPC marketing authorisation conundrum

Europe’s highest court has never ruled on whether certificates can be acquired on the basis of a third-party marketing approval – a practice that has given rise to disputes between biopharma innovators Read more

25 Feb 2019

Stockpiling of SPC-protected drugs by generics set to be allowed in the EU

Legislative disputes over the nature of a proposed manufacturing waiver have been resolved paving the way for implementation of controversial new regime Read more

6 Feb 2019

Help to find the IP Hall of Fame inductees for 2019

The annual search for outstanding individuals to induct into the IP Hall of Fame starts today and we want your help. Read more

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Designs

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12 Oct 2017

Effective use of Community design protection

Design protection has taken on an increasingly important role in recent years, since appearance and exterior shape now play a fundamental role in the success of a product. Designs are now relevant to a wide range of products involving industry,… Read more

Finance

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22 Jun 2018

Qualcomm, France Brevets and IP Europe join forces to create a new funding initiative for European SMEs

A new financing and advisory mechanism to help innovative European SMEs secure high-quality patents and build effective portfolios will be rolled out across Europe in 2019, it was revealed today. The creation of Patent Factory Europe (PFE) was… Read more

30 Aug 2016

Europe’s multi-billion dollar tax ruling against Apple throws treatment of IP assets into spotlight

The announcement today by the European Commission that Ireland must claw back €13 billion in tax revenues from Apple looks set to escalate the back and forth on the tax practices of major multinationals who use their economic leverage to benefit… Read more

1 Aug 2016

The European patent market – where should investors look next?

A growing number of patent owners in the European Union probably have the potential to monetise their patents – but do they know the best way to go about this? Read more

7 Jun 2016

Google shake-up; SMEs 4 the UPC; Europe warning; China insights and more from IPBC Global 2016 Day Two

All the plenary and breakout sessions have now come to an end at IPBC Global 2016. It’s been one hell of an event. IAM’s editorial team on the ground in Barcelona – editor Joff Wild (JW); North America editor Richard Lloyd (RL); Asia editor Jacob… Read more

FRAND/SEPS

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9 Nov 2018

SEP owners must beware of hindering Europe's golden 5G opportunity

In an exclusive opinion piece for IAM, Jim Beveridge of the Innovators' Network argues that originators need to embrace transparency and avoid royalty stacking to allow IoT innovation to thrive  Read more

25 Oct 2018

Oppo’s latest patent acquisition underlines focus on Europe  

Chinese smartphone company makes its latest SEP purchase from Nordic telecom giant Telia in a move that may indicate the start of a wider relationship Read more

11 Oct 2018

Draft guidelines on 5G patent licensing draw stinging response from implementers

Six licensing principles have been made public by a group including Nokia, Ericsson and Qualcomm following work done with European standards organisations CEN and CENELEC  Read more

1 Feb 2018

Out of court

Government bodies in Asia and beyond say that alternative dispute resolution is underutilised in disputes over fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory licences. However, parties on both sides argue that it is far from a cure-all Read more

Law & Policy

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9 Nov 2018

SEP owners must beware of hindering Europe's golden 5G opportunity

In an exclusive opinion piece for IAM, Jim Beveridge of the Innovators' Network argues that originators need to embrace transparency and avoid royalty stacking to allow IoT innovation to thrive  Read more

5 Nov 2018

European SPC ruling is a blow for medical device innovators

Court of Justice delivers decision that will make it harder for inventors of device-drug combination products to obtain patent term extensions Read more

11 Oct 2018

Draft guidelines on 5G patent licensing draw stinging response from implementers

Six licensing principles have been made public by a group including Nokia, Ericsson and Qualcomm following work done with European standards organisations CEN and CENELEC  Read more

2 Oct 2018

Je ne regrette rien – Battistelli, the final interview

After eight tumultuous years, Benoît Battistelli is no longer president of the EPO. In June, he sat down with IAM to look back on his controversial tenure. One thing was clear: he would do it the same way all over again Read more

Litigation

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5 Nov 2018

European SPC ruling is a blow for medical device innovators

Court of Justice delivers decision that will make it harder for inventors of device-drug combination products to obtain patent term extensions Read more

14 Aug 2018

CJEU’s failure to clear up SPC mess highlights difficulties with non-specialist judges

The disappointing recent Truvada SPC decision by Europe's highest court underscores the problems that arise when non-specialist judges rule on highly complex IP matters. Read more

5 Aug 2018

NPEs like Sisvel have survived the storm - that's another reason why the deals market is picking up

A series of recent deals from Italian licensing business show that some patent owners are prospering in current climate.  Read more

2 Jul 2018

UPC and unitary patent membership are back on the agenda in Spain, according to reports

A month after coming to power, the PSOE government in Spain is all set to re-open the debate about whether the country should sign up to the EU unitary patent and Unified Patent Court agreement. According to Josep Maria Pujals of Barcelona-based… Read more

Market Developments

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25 Oct 2018

Oppo’s latest patent acquisition underlines focus on Europe  

Chinese smartphone company makes its latest SEP purchase from Nordic telecom giant Telia in a move that may indicate the start of a wider relationship Read more

4 Oct 2018

Major changes to Nokia IP team as patent kingpin leaves the company

Departure sees Finnish telecoms giant hand control of its $1bn portfolio to two women in a market dominated by men Read more

10 Aug 2018

Microsoft leads in machine learning with Alphabet in hot pursuit – but the field remains wide open

Two US tech giants currently own the most – and the highest quality – patents relating to machine learning. State and university research labs in China have also made a strong showing, and experts say anyone could still end up on top. Read more

5 Aug 2018

NPEs like Sisvel have survived the storm - that's another reason why the deals market is picking up

A series of recent deals from Italian licensing business show that some patent owners are prospering in current climate.  Read more

Non practising entities

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5 Aug 2018

NPEs like Sisvel have survived the storm - that's another reason why the deals market is picking up

A series of recent deals from Italian licensing business show that some patent owners are prospering in current climate.  Read more

7 Jun 2018

Two separate Sisvel deals with Samsung push the firm ever-closer to the big leagues

Sisvel has announced two deals with Samsung that confirm the IP mangement and licensing platform’s continued progress into the top division of the patent monetisation space. Not only has the Korean giant agreed to take a royalty-bearing licence to a… Read more

29 May 2018

German pharma patent troll claims EPC loophole paves a path to gold

A company described as a new-style European patent troll has told IAM that it believes a deal with a large pharma company is likely at some point this year. The organisation, which has used a provision in the European Patent Convention to make… Read more

20 Feb 2018

Despite the spin, new report shows NPEs are responsible for a fraction of European patent litigation

For several years executives from various US-based NPEs have been talking about the much more appealing litigation environment in various European countries as they have seen the climate become far tougher in their home market. Germany, in… Read more

Patent pools

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9 Nov 2018

SEP owners must beware of hindering Europe's golden 5G opportunity

In an exclusive opinion piece for IAM, Jim Beveridge of the Innovators' Network argues that originators need to embrace transparency and avoid royalty stacking to allow IoT innovation to thrive  Read more

Strategy

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9 Nov 2018

SEP owners must beware of hindering Europe's golden 5G opportunity

In an exclusive opinion piece for IAM, Jim Beveridge of the Innovators' Network argues that originators need to embrace transparency and avoid royalty stacking to allow IoT innovation to thrive  Read more

5 Nov 2018

European SPC ruling is a blow for medical device innovators

Court of Justice delivers decision that will make it harder for inventors of device-drug combination products to obtain patent term extensions Read more

25 Oct 2018

Oppo’s latest patent acquisition underlines focus on Europe  

Chinese smartphone company makes its latest SEP purchase from Nordic telecom giant Telia in a move that may indicate the start of a wider relationship Read more

11 Oct 2018

Draft guidelines on 5G patent licensing draw stinging response from implementers

Six licensing principles have been made public by a group including Nokia, Ericsson and Qualcomm following work done with European standards organisations CEN and CENELEC  Read more

Technology licensing

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9 Nov 2018

SEP owners must beware of hindering Europe's golden 5G opportunity

In an exclusive opinion piece for IAM, Jim Beveridge of the Innovators' Network argues that originators need to embrace transparency and avoid royalty stacking to allow IoT innovation to thrive  Read more

11 Oct 2018

Draft guidelines on 5G patent licensing draw stinging response from implementers

Six licensing principles have been made public by a group including Nokia, Ericsson and Qualcomm following work done with European standards organisations CEN and CENELEC  Read more

Trademarks

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12 Oct 2017

There'll be no easy bedding-in for António Campinos at the EPO; he'll have to hit the ground running

The news that António Campinos has been chosen to succeed Benoît Battistelli as president of the European Patent Office should not have come as a huge surprise to IAM’s readers. We predicted it might happen back in July. But the speed of the… Read more

12 Sep 2017

Preparing for Brexit - analysis of the European Commission's position paper on key IP issues

Last week the European Commission published a Brexit position paper on dealing with intellectual property issues raised by the UK’s departure from the European Union – which is scheduled to happen at the end of March 2019. The paper focused on… Read more

24 Jun 2016

The UK's Brexit vote will mean more complexity and higher costs for IP owners in Europe

Well, we have only gone and done it. By a margin of 17,410,742 votes to 16,141,241 the people of the United Kingdom have decided that they want their country to leave the European Union. As an added extra, they have also forced the resignation of… Read more

13 Jun 2016

It's time for IP owners to start giving serious consideration to the possibility of Brexit

With under two weeks to go until the UK holds its referendum on whether to remain in the European Union or to leave, the outcome still looks to be on a knife-edge. The latest batch of opinion polls generally seem to indicate a move to the Leave camp… Read more

Trade secrets

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29 Mar 2018

Trade secrets take centre stage

Political rhetoric has thrust trade secrets misappropriation into the spotlight. New legislation around the world means that rights holders have never had more options for enforcing their rights. Read more

1 Aug 2016

Top trio

Three outstanding individuals have been inducted into the IP Hall of Fame for 2016. They have already had a profound impact on their corners of the IP world – but do not expect these pioneers to rest on their laurels just yet Read more

Valuation

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1 Aug 2016

Brexit leaves the UPC in limbo – and that’s no bad thing

The UK vote to leave the European Union may have surprised and disappointed many in the IP community, but a rush to bypass the decision and implement the unitary patent package would be a mistake Read more

7 Jun 2016

Google shake-up; SMEs 4 the UPC; Europe warning; China insights and more from IPBC Global 2016 Day Two

All the plenary and breakout sessions have now come to an end at IPBC Global 2016. It’s been one hell of an event. IAM’s editorial team on the ground in Barcelona – editor Joff Wild (JW); North America editor Richard Lloyd (RL); Asia editor Jacob… Read more

6 Jun 2016

IV spins-out invention fund, Yahoo! patent sale, Brexit bypass & much more from IPBC Global 2016 Day One

The first full day of plenary sessions and breakouts at IPBC Global 2016 has now come to an end, and delegates are currently enjoying a cocktail reception in the grounds of conference venue the Hotel Arts. Throughout the day, IAM’s team of… Read more

6 Jun 2016

IPBC Global 2016 gets underway with the growing threat of Brexit hanging over the patent market

The IAM editorial team is in Barcelona currently for this year’s IPBC Global, which gets underway today. We have we over 500 delegates in attendance, many of whom hold senior IP leadership positions inside some of the world’s biggest and most… Read more

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Mike Nicholls
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