European Patent Office

"Moving the Boards of Appeal back to an EPO building is walking a very thin line"

The presidents of the European Patent Office and the Boards of Appeal are jointly calling for the court to move to the EPO building in Pschorr-Höfe VII. Even if the move is financially prudent, it wil ...

24 December 2021 by Mathieu Klos

People & Business

Boards of Appeal to move back to Munich city centre

The presidents of the European Patent Office and the Boards of Appeal want the court to move back into the EPO building in the centre of Munich. This ...

17 December 2021 by Mathieu Klos

Cases

Renewable energy

Huawei and regular advisors succeed in revoking SolarEdge patent

The EPO Boards of Appeal have upheld a previous decision revoking an important SolarEdge solar technology patent. The decision also ends a lawsuit fil ...

4 November 2021 by Mathieu Klos

Legal Commentary

Enlarged Board of Appeal

EPO publishes final reasoning in G 1/21 video conferencing case

The EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal has determined that compulsory video conferencing at the EPO does not infringe a party's right to be heard, or its ri ...

28 October 2021 by Amy Sandys

Cases

Medical devices

Abiomed, Krieger Mes and Cohausz prevail in heart pump dispute with Thoratec

The Abbott subsidiary Thoratec may no longer sell its HeartMate PHP heart pumps in Germany. This was decided by Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court in tw ...

8 October 2021 by Mathieu Klos

Cases

Boards of Appeal

Allergan wins with Hoffmann Eitle in battle over Botox patents

In a dispute over the next generation of Botox patents, Allergan has won a first victory at the European Patent Office. Last week, the Technical Board ...

14 September 2021 by Konstanze Richter

Cases

Medical devices

Agile Diffraction and Femtonics battle at EPO over medical laser technology

Agile Diffraction is going head-to-head with Hungarian company Femtonics in opposition proceedings at the European Patent Office. The patents in quest ...

10 August 2021 by Amy Sandys

Cases

EPO video hearings

G 1/21: EPO confirms video conferencing compatible with EPC

Today, the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal has handed down its first order in the high-profile G 1/21 case regarding video conferencing. A press communiq ...

16 July 2021 by Amy Sandys

Cases

Biosimilars

Polpharma and Wuesthoff succeed in revoking MS drug patent

The Opposition Division of the European Patent Office has revoked a Biogen patent, which covers treatment for multiple sclerosis. In May 2020, Polphar ...

1 July 2021 by Amy Sandys

Legal Commentary

EPO Boards of Appeal

German patent firm alliance opposes compulsory video oral proceedings

In May, the Enlarged Board of Appeal will hear a case on the lawfulness of conducting oral proceedings by compulsory video conference in case G1/21. C ...

28 April 2021 by Christina Schulze

Legal Commentary

Annual Report 2020

Boards of Appeal reduces case backlog, despite pandemic challenges

The EPO Boards of Appeal has published its Annual Report 2020, which shows a reduction in its case backlog. This is despite a shift to remote working ...

15 April 2021 by Amy Sandys

Cases

Consumer goods

Ocado and AutoStore expand robot-assisted technology war to Europe

Ocado has filed several patent infringement suits against competitor AutoStore in Germany, taking the dispute to the next level. The new litigation fo ...

30 March 2021 by Mathieu Klos

Cases

CRISPR/Cas

EPO revokes first Sigma-Aldrich CRISPR patent for lack of inventive step

The EPO Opposition Division has revoked a CRISPR patent, part of the Sigma-Aldrich patent portfolio, for lack of inventive step. The revocation is sig ...

19 March 2021 by Amy Sandys

Legal Commentary

European Patent Office

EPO Patent Index shows medical innovation driving patent applications

Today's EPO Patent Index 2020 highlights healthcare innovation as the biggest driver of European patent applications. The number of filed European pat ...

16 March 2021 by Amy Sandys

Cases

EPO Boards of Appeal

Enlarged Board of Appeal releases G 1/19 decision on patenting computer simulations

The EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal has published its decision in case G 1/19 regarding the patentability of computer-implemented simulations. The EBA st ...

11 March 2021 by Amy Sandys

People & Business

European Patent Office

Compulsory EPO video hearings leave some parties in doubt

Since the beginning of 2021, the EPO Boards of Appeal in Munich has conducted three-quarters of its hearings by video conference. This means parties c ...

1 March 2021 by Christina Schulze

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