AWA Point

No conflict between scientific research and commercialisation

By AWA | Posted on January 7, 2009

It’s a widely held myth in the world of medical research that patent is a dirty word, merely a way of making money out of your research. In actual fact, applying for a patent has much in common with publishing a paper in a scientific journal. The difference is in the purpose of the exercise....

Controversial gene patents finally decided by the EPO

By Niklas Mattsson | Posted on November 27, 2008

During the last decade, the debate in Europe regarding the patentability of human gene inventions has been heavily influenced by “the Myriad case”, concerning patent applications by Myriad Genetics Inc (and others) that relate to the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. Through two decisions spaced less than a week apart, the European Patent...

Tags: EPO, gene patents

Customs and police – reluctant to help?

By AWA | Posted on October 22, 2008

Are Swedish customs officers and police reluctant when it comes to helping IP rights holders combat illegal copying? It may look like that – at least when they are compared with their colleagues in Germany. Recently we have seen proof that their German counterparts can mobilise huge resources when this is necessary. At the IFA...

Tags: Infringement, Piracy, pirated products

UK Court grants software patent

By AWA | Posted on October 15, 2008

In its ruling on October 8, 2008, the British Court of Appeal confirmed the decision of the High Court that the invention claimed in GB application 0325145.1 by Symbian Ltd is patentable under UK law. The claimed invention relates to a new and improved way to access DLL (dynamic link library) files in an operating...

When is sixty days from now? – Cheap and expensive strategies when being late

By Mikael Henriksson | Posted on September 16, 2008

Ever been late? Then you know that there are two basic types of strategies for handling the situation: I Was Not Late and It Was Not My Fault. These two strategies are well illustrated in some recent cases concerning applications for patent term extension before the US Patent and Trademark Office, one of them involving...

USPTO will not give up

By Niklas Mattsson | Posted on June 10, 2008

Last fall, the US Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO, announced that they would make drastic changes in the rules concerning patent applications. Briefly, the USPTO rules mean that the applicant’s rights to file different forms of continuation applications are severely limited. The rules were meant to become effective on 1 November 2007. Tons of companies...

Tags: USPTO

Field all your players if you want to win the game

By AWA | Posted on May 12, 2008

Imagine a football manager who bemoans the fact that the opposition is invincible and his team never wins. Yet match after match he fields only nine players instead of the full complement of eleven. He’d be branded as a madman – and his career would probably be very short-lived. The war against the pirates is...

Tags: counterfeits, ctm registration, EU application