patents
Inventor information requirements in the amended Chinese Patent Examination Guidelines
By Hongyue Li | Posted on January 6, 2026
The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced the latest revisions to the Patent Examination Guidelines on November 10, 2025, which came into effect on January 1, 2026. Among the revisions, the updated requirements for filing all inventors’ information in patent applications have garnered widespread attention across the industry. This update clarifies the modification to the inventor...
EPO launches new PPH agreements with New Zealand and Bahrain
By Troels Peter Rørdam | Posted on March 20, 2025
The PPH network continues to expand, and we at AWA remain one step ahead by closely monitoring the new expansions and emerging opportunities. Recently, European patent applicants have been presented with new opportunities to expedite and simplify the examination of their patent applications. This opportunity adds to the existing 15 agreements that the EPO holds...
Tags: Bahrain, EPO, New Zealand, patents, PPH
Companies with IP generate at least 23.8% more revenue according to latest EU report
By AWA | Posted on February 5, 2025
The report ‘The Intellectual Property Rights and Firm Performance in the European Union’ was published last month and analyses intellectual property records by matching firms with their registered patents, trademarks, and designs from multiple authorities, including the European Patent Office (EPO), European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and various national and regional IP offices within...
Tags: EPO, EUIPO, Intellectual Property, patents, SMEs, trademarks
European Commission reports show misuse of divisionals can in itself contravene EU law
By Mikkel Roed Trier | Posted on January 28, 2025
In November last year, I was interviewed about the European Commission’s €462.6 million fine against pharmaceutical giant Teva and what it could mean for European patent practices. In short, the European Commission fined Teva for artificially extending patent protection by pursuing divisionals and spreading misleading information about a competing product to hinder its market entry...
How foreign applicants can take advantage of China’s updated patent regime
By Benny Liu | Posted on January 27, 2025
China implemented the fourth amendment to its Patent Law, which came into effect on 1 July 2021. The amended Implementing Regulations and Guidelines took effect on 20 January 2024. This fourth round of amendments introduced several positive elements for foreign applicants. Procedural Changes Restoring Priority In line with patent practices in the UK, European Union,...
Tags: applicants, china, designs, examination, patents, priority, Procedure
Interview: Will patent filers have to change practices after European Commission’s €462.6 million fine against big pharma’s Teva?
By AWA | Posted on November 26, 2024
The European Commission recently fined pharmaceutical giant Teva €462.6 million for artificially extending patent protection by pursuing divisionals and spreading misleading information about a competing product to hinder its market entry and uptake. Margrethe Vestager, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, commented that the decision “reaffirms the Commission’s commitment to competition enforcement...
Filed under: Insights, Interviews
Tags: antitrust, competition, divisionals, EU, patents, Teva
Sweden’s Proposed Patents Act
By Louise Jonshammar | Posted on April 19, 2024
On 11 April 2024, the Swedish Council on Legislation was presented with a new Swedish Patents Act proposal. The initial Swedish Government Official Report dates from April 2015 and was the product of a two-and-a-half-year project that included many concerns regarding the Unitary Patent system. The suggested legislative changes from the 2015 report have already...
Tags: EPC, patents, Patents Act, sweden
Validation agreement between EPO and Georgia enters into force
By AWA | Posted on February 9, 2024
On January 15, 2024, the validation agreement between the European Patent Organisation (EPO) and Georgia entered into force. Patent owners can now validate their European patent applications and patents granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) in Georgia on the basis of Georgia’s national law. European patent applications and patents validated in Georgia under the...
Tags: EPO, Georgia, patents, Validation
How implementing regulations will affect foreign patent applicants in China
By AWA | Posted on February 7, 2024
On December 21, 2023, the China State Council issued Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law (Regulations). The Regulations became effective on January 20, 2024 and compliments the fourth amendment to the Patent Law. The Regulations explain how several provisions of the Patent Law will be implemented as it aligns patent procedures with major jurisdictions. This...
Tags: china, design patents, partial design, Patent Term Adjustments, Patent Term Extensions, patents, utility models
Patents and Intellectual Property – Strategic Aspects
By Joanna Applequist, Mikael Henriksson | Posted on February 6, 2023
As part of Redeye’s ProView series, Jessica Martinsson, COO of Sprint Bioscience joins European patent attorneys Joanna Applequist and Mikael Henriksson, as well as Redeye’s equity analyst Ethel Luvall to discuss patents, intellectual property and dive deep into the legal and strategic aspects of different businesses. ...
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