Clarification on the meaning of 'human embryo' in Europe

Advocate General Villalon opines that, subject to a condition, oocytes activated by parthenogenesis, being unable to develop into human beings, cannot be considered “human embryos” and are therefore, in his opinion, not excluded from patentability (C-364/13).

Wednesday 13 August 2014

Good News For The Agrochemical Industry

Europe’s highest Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), has held that a ‘safener’ can be the subject of a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC).

Monday 21 July 2014

EPO’s Technical Board of Appeal confirms the patentability of inventions concerning the use of Human Embryonic Stem cells in Europe

The EPO’s Technical Board of Appeal (TBoA) issued a decision last month dismissing an appeal filed on behalf of Technion Research and Development Foundation, Ltd. against a decision of the Examining Division refusing application 03751238.1. The decision is available here.

Monday 9 June 2014

European Patent Office clarifies the patentability of methods making use of human embryos

During the prosecution of European patent application 05028411.6, the Examining Division objected to claims relating to obtaining pluripotent stem cells from an embryo. Claim 1 of the rejected application is directed to a method for obtaining pluripotent embryonic stem cells in an embryo preserving manner from blastocysts.

Monday 9 June 2014

Patent Term Extension in Europe

Similarly to the patent term extension available in the United States under 35 USC § 156, European legislation provides a system to apply for patent term extension, termed a Supplementary Protection Certificate (“SPC”), in order to compensate patent holders for the delays caused by seeking marketing authorization for medicinal and plant protection products.

Monday 9 June 2014

SPCs for combination products: the saga continues in Europe

In a case brought by Actavis Group against Boehringer Ingelheim, the UK Patents Court has referred four questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) seeking clarification on how the Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) Regulation should be interpreted in relation to drug products made of a combination of active ingredients. The case concerns once more the validity of a combination SPC but there are a number of specific issues raised which have not been considered by the CJEU previously.

Monday 9 June 2014

News and Events

Clarification on the meaning of 'human embryo' in Europe

Good News For The Agrochemical Industry

EPO’s Technical Board of Appeal confirms the patentability of inventions concerning the use of Human Embryonic Stem cells in Europe

European Patent Office clarifies the patentability of methods making use of human embryos

Patent Term Extension in Europe

SPCs for combination products: the saga continues in Europe