Inside IP Spring Summer 2022

Venner Shipley’s Intellectual Property Magazine featuring a roundup of the latest cases and developments in IP.

A word from the editor: Simon Taor

As the world is opening up again, we are looking forward to making plans to catch up with our contacts in person. A big talking point is definitely going to be the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court, which after all these years is now almost certainly coming into effect in late 2022, or early 2023. Whilst not all of the details are finalised, in this issue Peter Thorniley provides a comprehensive review of the system and some of the most important things that applicants and patent holders need to consider before the system starts.

A new set of European Patent Office Guidelines came into force on 1 March 2022, and Kathryn Rose and Nick Barrow provide a summary of the important changes. Also, Matt Handley looks in detail at the changes specifically related to antibodies. In other matters related to the EPO, Henry Aldridge has an article on controlling the speed of prosecution at the EPO, and Emma Longland runs through some important priority related issues in her article ‘“Priority Pitfalls to Avoid at the EPO”.

The cell and gene therapy industry is thriving not only in the UK, but around the world. Kirsty Dolphin takes a look at some of the major successes and deals that have taken place in the last few months.

No Inside IP edition would be complete without case law updates from our patents, trade mark and design teams, and this issue includes a wide variety of such articles. Clare Turnbull and Vivek Patel provide an update on International Trade Marks, and George Hudson explores some issues relating to design protection of components.

Last but not least, our legal team explore the following legal questions: “Expert Witnesses in Patent Cases – What’s Happening?” as well as “Patently Obvious? The English High Court Considers Drug Development Practices in Teva v Bayer”.

A big thank you to all our contributing authors, and thank you for your time reading this and sharing our world of IP. I hope you find something of interest! If you have any further questions or would just like to discuss more on the UPC or anything else IP related, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. I am, together with my colleagues across the UK and Germany, looking forward to seeing you soon and we are, as always, only an email or call away.

To read further click below:

EPO Guidelines on Antibodies: an assessment of adherence
Matthew Handley and Kyle Burgess examine the updates to the EPO Guidelines for Examination, which now include a section devoted to the examination of antibody-related patent applications.

Cell and Gene Therapy Industry News
With the cell and gene therapy industry booming around the world, Kirsty Dolphin looks at some of the major recent successes and deals.

Priority Pitfalls to Avoid at the EPO
Emma Longland takes a close look at the rules that must be followed for a patent priority claim to be considered valid in Europe.

International Trade Marks Update
Clare Turnbull and Vivek Patel explore some of the recent international trade marks updates including United Arab Emirates and Chile joining the Madrid Protocol.

Expert Witnesses in Patent Cases – What’s Happening?
James Tumbridge and Benedict Sharrock-Harris look at the appointments of Mr. Justice Meade and Mr. Justice Mellor and how expert use and evidence is evolving.

Unitary Patents and the Unified Patent Court
After many a false start, Europe is finally on the verge of a radical overhaul of its patent system, with the bringing into being of the Unitary Patent (UP) and Unified Patent Court (UPC), Peter Thorniley explains.

Design protection of Components
The first of two articles from George Hudson exploring some of the issues affecting the protection of components under the various UK and EU Community design regimes.

Update to the EPO Guidelines 1 March 2022
Kathryn Rose and Nick Barrow explore some of the significant changes to the EPO Guidelines following the 1 March update.

Controlling the Speed of Prosecution at the EPO
Henry Aldridge explores some of the available options for controlling the EPO’s timescales for processing applications.

Patently Obvious? The English High Court Considers Drug Development Practices in Teva v Bayer
Robert Peake and Benedict Sharrock-Harris look at the October 2021 case of Teva UK Limited V Bayer Healthcare LLC.

Moon Boot Kicked Out but Guerlain’s Lipstick Shapes Up
Camilla Sexton and Gloria Parmesan consider what a shape mark is and report on two recent cases looking at the shape of the moon boot and Rouge G lipstick holder.

VS News
A round-up of the latest Venner Shipley news.