Is The Complaint Against The UPC Admissible? German Bar Association Says “No”

Following the surprise submission last year of a “constitutional complaint” against German participation in the Unified Patent Court system, ratification of the UPC Agreement was put on hold.

The Federal Constitutional Court invited observations from a large number of third-parties representing German lawyers, government and industry, and set a 31 December deadline. The German Bar Association (Deutscher Anwaltverein, “DAV”) has been first off the blocks to make public its own set of observations, which can be read […]

By | May 7th, 2017 ||

Luxembourg: Golden Disclaimers

The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office has issued decision G 1/16 on the allowability of undisclosed disclaimers introduced into a patent claim. This decision confirms that “undisclosed disclaimers” in European patent applications are permissible under certain circumstances thus clarifying a decade-old saga on this matter.

The saga of disclaimers used in patent claims before the European Patent Office is ongoing for decades. A disclaimer in a patent claim serves to remove non-patentable subject matter from […]

By | April 29th, 2017 ||

Q&A: Japanese Patent Expiration Dates And Extensions

A patent’s duration is fairly standard in Japan: 20 years from the filing date. (For a PCT international application that enters the national phase in Japan, that is 20 years from the international filing date.) Sometimes, though, an applicant might not be able to work the invention right away and want to extend the expiration date of the patent. What then?
(When) can I extend my patent’s duration?
Unlike with the USPTO, the JPO does not automatically […]

By | April 11th, 2017 ||