Insights
An attempt to clarify what an embryo is
By Joanna Applequist | Posted on July 1, 2013
What is really meant by the term ”human embryo” as used in Article 6(2)(c) of the Biotech Directive (98/44/EC)? Are parthenotes to be considered as embryos and what is meant by “capable of commencing the process of development to a human being”? Following an appeal by International Stem Cell Corporation (“ISCC”) against a decision that...
Tags: Article 6(2)(c) of Directive 98/44/EC, embryo, Human embryo
Myriad patent claims on breast cancer genes invalidated by US Supreme Court
By Niklas Mattsson | Posted on June 14, 2013
In a decision on 13 June, the highest court of the USA, the US Supreme Court, said the final word in the highly publicized “gene patent” case involving Myriad Genetics. The decision is available here. See our previous reports on this case here, here and here. In brief, a group of plaintiffs wanted the courts...
DK-US Patent Prosecution Highway agreement version 2.0
By Troels Peter Rørdam | Posted on June 3, 2013
Patent Prosecution Highway agreement version 2.0 between the DKPTO and the USPTO Effective from today, 3 June 2103, the PPH agreement between The Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) and The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been upgraded to what the DKPTO aptly calls a “PPH-agrement version 2.0”. With the PPH agreement version...
Tags: DKPTO, patent application, patent prosecution highway, USPTO
Beer lovers sue for trademark dilution
By AWA | Posted on April 26, 2013
Trademarks are, among other things, a guarantee for a certain level of quality. If the quality slips, the consumers may go for a different, competing product. But sometimes consumers seem to stick to their favorites. An unusual lawsuit has been filed in the US, where consumers have filed a $5 million class action against Anheuser-Busch. The...
Tags: Anheuser-Busch
India’s Supreme Court rejects patent plea by Novartis for the cancer drug Glivec
By Jeanette Jakobsson | Posted on April 18, 2013
For years, India did not offer any patent protection for chemical compounds, but was obliged to do this after joining the World Trade Organization. In 2005, the patent protection act therefore was amended to also include such compounds, but only if they proved significant clinical efficacy enhancements over already patented compounds, Section 3(d) of the Indian...
Is use in only one single member state in EU enough for a Community Trademark?
By AWA | Posted on March 12, 2013
If you have a registered EU trademark (“Community trademark”) today, which was registered for more than five years ago, what are the consequences in practice if you only use your trademark in one country within the EU? The Court of Justice came with a ruling in case C-149/11 ONEL/OMEL on 19 December 2012, in which...
Tags: Community trademark, OMEL
The Cooperative Patent Classification has been launched!
By Troels Peter Rørdam | Posted on February 22, 2013
As many will already have noticed the Corporate Patent Classification (CPC), which the AWAPATENT IP Blog has covered previously, has now been launched and taken into use by the EPO and the USPTO. To recapture in brief, the CPC is based on the latest version of the International Patent Classification (IPC) system. The CPC is...
New DK Patent Prosecution Highway-agreement
By Troels Peter Rørdam | Posted on January 28, 2013
New Patent Prosecution Highway agreement between the DKPTO and China’s SIPO Since the beginning of 2013 a new PPH agreement enables Danish patent applicants to obtain a patent in China in a faster and more cost-effective way. On 1 January 2013 a PPH agreement on a pilot project basis came into effect between the Danish...
Poverty versus patenting in India – round two
By Jeanette Jakobsson | Posted on November 22, 2012
Earlier this year the first compulsory license, regarding the anti-cancer drug Sorafenib, was granted in India. (See previous blog post.) The compulsory license was granted inter alia on the ground that the patented invention was not available to the public at a reasonable affordable price. The battle towards affordable medicaments in India continues. In a...
Tags: compulsory license, drug patents, India, Pharmaceuticals
Is it worth the effort to appeal a decision made by the DKPTO?
By Troels Peter Rørdam | Posted on November 14, 2012
Danish case law regarding patents shows that in a vast majority of cases, the Danish Board of Appeal (BoA) for Patents tend to follow the recommendation of the DKPTO. This has caused reason to pose the question of whether the Danish BoA for Patents tends to put too much weight on the recommendations of the...
Tags: Board of Appeal, Denmark, Patent
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