Intellectual Property Expert Group
Intellectual Property Expert Group
The patent fight between can hardly been escaped to anyone’s attention. The patent disputes involve both Standard Essential Patents as well as Implementation Patents. It involves FRAND and arguments about what qualifies as “fair and reasonable”. It involves the thorny…
You will never get the license agreement your technology deserves. You get the license agreement you negotiate. With this in mind, it is important for inventors, licensing professionals and intellectual property lawyers to constantly hone their negotiating skills. Here are…
By naming former Google IP Chief Michelle Lee Deputy Director the Obama administration has tipped the patent scales in favor of tech businesses with special interests. In the absence of a named Director for over a year, naming Michelle Lee…
As research has shown, owners have an incentive to exaggerate the valuation of their property. This is true for all kind of property but is it also true for intellectual property? People are reluctant to part with their property, and…
U.S. men seeking a generic version of Viagra (sildenafil citrate) – the first and the most popular prescription drug for Erectile Dysfunction (ED) – are going to have to wait for a few more years. Viagra’s patent, originally scheduled to…
Assume you are a patent broker. You are being approached by a party who is extremely enthusiastic about his patent, it’s the invention that will change the world, where anyone has been waiting for or that multiple parties use (read:…
There are only a small number of bloggers among Fortune 500 companies. Hardly 15 percent of the Fortune 500 companies communicates with its consumers via blogs. This is the result of a study by Burson-Marsteller. From the survey, conducted in…
Football is exciting for many, patents only for a few (probably readers of this blog included). So what have patents to do with football mania broken loose with the UEFA Europe 2008 tournament in Austria and Switzerland? Patents are by…
I am sure you remember the good old days when Dutch patent practitioners introduced the “pan European injunctions”. Based on the idea that a European patent granted in Munich according to uniform (and unified) principles of patentability should enjoy pan-European…
You are a European institution, the European Central Bank, and you seek the invalidation of what has been granted as a valid right by another European institution, the European Patent Office (EPO). The last weeks we got a taste of…
Ever thought about the reasons why copyright protégés have been able to extend the duration of the copyright law in many countries now to 70 years after the death of the author while patents are lagging behind? Why can’t get…
Two European trademark blogs, MarkenBlog and Class 46 referred to a publication in Germany’s business newspaper Handelsblatt on the effect of the proposed new “Bilanzrichtlinien modernisierungs gesetz” (Accounting Directives Modernizations Law). According to the two blogs this introduces new accounting…
In an earlier blog, we wondered “Will 2008 bring the same troll trend in Europe?”. Well it’s no surprise that it does. A yet relatively unknown NPE (Non Practicing Entity, or otherwise called “patent troll”) an IP exploitation company called…
France has formally communicated its ratification of the London Agreement. This at last clears the way for the Agreement to come into force, which will happen on 1 May 2008. The consequent savings on translation costs will have a significant…
Our prediction on December 8, 2007 what would happen after the acquisition of Gemstar by Macrovision proved right (see “Macrovision acquires Gemstar, a more aggressive IP policy ahead”. Last week Gemstar sued Virgin Media for patent infringement before a UK…
Yesterday, EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes launched an inquiry into the workings of the pharmaceutical industry, especially into patent-dispute settlements between companies including Pfizer Inc., AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson, which companies offices were raided yesterday by Commission officials. The…
Does it make a difference for IP who the next US president will be? Prof. Hal Wegner thinks it does.On the Republican side, Mitt Romney has already made a statement in his campaign on key patent issues and has gained…
We copycat IPKat*:The European Patent Office has announced a punitive fee schedule effective April 1, 2009, that will punish applicants filing more than 15 claims in an application. A 200 € ($ 287) fee per claim will be assessed for…
Ever tried to find anything interesting on patents at You Tube? You would be surprised on controversial issues like patenting “life” Joe Siino, VP IP on Patent Trolls, how to find a patent attorney? Check Mike Mozart “Inventors” like Denny…
Increasingly, big oil companies use their Intellectual Property to achieve competitive advantage over their state-owned rivals (NOC’s). Why is that so? More than 80% of the world’s oil reserves are in the hands of state-controlled companies. Big Oil is loosing…