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Will there be any difference in the oral hearings between the EPO and the UPC?

By AWA | Posted on May 13, 2015

Anyone who has been attending an oral proceeding at the EPO, either as an observer or as an active party knows what it’s like. You need to think fast and stay on your toes, and watch your language because every issue, often starting with added subject matter, is taken to a decision immediately. The proceedings...

Tags: EPO, oral hearings, unified patent court, unitary patent, UPC

Accelerated processing of Standard Essential Patent (SEP) applications?

By Love Koči | Posted on April 22, 2015

Numerous industries have benefited from standard-setting organizations (SSOs), whose primary activities encompass developing, coordinating and producing technical standards intended to address the needs of affected adopters. The SSOs may advance technology, as standardization promotes interoperability, quality and user-friendliness. Technical solutions developed within the scope of a standard may provide significant added value to its users,...

Tags: epi, FRAND, PPH, SEP, SSO

First non-European country begins validating European patents

By Troels Peter Rørdam | Posted on April 15, 2015

As earlier announced on the Awapatent IP Blog here, Tunisia and Morocco has signed an agreement with the EPO on the validation of European patents in the respective countries. Effective 1 March 2015 the agreement with Morocco entered in to force, thus enabling applicants with a European patent application filed on or after this date...

Tags: EPO, European patent, Morocco

Fertile grounds for patent applications

By Love Koči | Posted on March 31, 2015

According to a recently published survey by the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV), geographical areas where universities and large companies are present promote innovation, and consequently, also the number of filed patent applications. Some Swedish counties (e.g. Stockholm, Uppsala and Skåne) stand out in the PRV statistics of the number of national patent applications...

Tags: Innovation, PRV, sweden

New IP courts major step forward in China’s judicial reforms

By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on March 24, 2015

In November and December 2014, China announced the long awaited establishment of three specialized IP courts in the Tier 1 cities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. These courts are empowered to hear the following cases: First instance civil and administrative cases related to patents, new plant varieties, layout design of integrated circuit, technological secrets and...

Tags: Asia, china, IP court

The Indian Jungle – an IP perspective, part 2

By Michael Bech Sommer | Posted on March 10, 2015

To foreign applicants filing a patent application in India takes place “at the IPO”, but in reality there is a choice of venue which is not trivial. The Indian patent office (IPO) is headquartered at Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) with branches in Chennai (formerly Madras), New Delhi and Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The office of...

Tags: compulsory license, India, Patent

The Indian Jungle – an IP perspective, part 1

By Michael Bech Sommer | Posted on February 27, 2015

“Now these are the laws of the jungle, and many and mighty are they…” – Rudyard Kipling wrote these lines over 100 years ago in his “Law for the Wolves” from the famous Jungle Book. As IP practitioners we are constantly reminded of the complex nature of today’s Indian IP jungle and the many and...

Tags: India, Patent

Swedish Government forms Innovation Council

By Love Koči | Posted on January 28, 2015

According to a recently published article in the Swedish business journal Veckans Affärer, the Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Innovation, Mikael Damberg, has promised the creation of an Innovation Council during the spring of 2015 which is to be headed by the Swedish Prime Minister. Mr. Damberg states that a Council of this kind has...

Tags: Innovation, sweden

Is there anything morally wrong with “Je suis Charlie”?

By AWA | Posted on January 21, 2015

In continuation of the terrible terror attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, social medias were flooded with the phrase “Je suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) as a message of condolence, outrage and defiance, as well as support for the right to free expression. As expected, this social media wave resulted in a vast...

Tags: OHIM, trademarks

Recent contributors

Ylva Strandberg, Counsel and AU and NZ Patent Attorney, Stockholm, Sweden

Ylva Strandberg

Counsel, AU and NZ Patent Attorney

Hongyue Li, Senior Associate and China Patent Attorney, Beijing, China

Hongyue Li

Senior Associate, China Patent Attorney

Isa Böttiger, Associate and Attorney at Law, Stockholm, Sweden

Isa Böttiger

Associate, Attorney at Law

Ylva Wikmark, Counsel and European Patent Attorney, Stockholm, Sweden

Ylva Wikmark

Counsel, European Patent Attorney

Ashley Zhao, Partner and Attorney at Law, Beijing, China

Ashley Zhao

Partner, Attorney at Law, Business Area Manager

Alexandre Theodorou, Partner and European Patent Attorney, Brussels, Belgium

Alexandre Theodorou

Partner, European Patent Attorney