Obviousness in England – Has the pendulum started to move?
On 18 November 2005 the English High Court (Christopher Floyd QC sitting as a Deputy Judge of the Patents Court) handed down its judgment in the case of Schering Plough v Norbrook Laboratories. The Court’s interpretation of the recent decision…
Is there a Future for the European Community Patent?
Recently it was announced that EU Commissioner McGreevy would like to make “one more, last (emphasis on “last”!) attempt to create a low-cost EU Community Patent”. See Financial Times, January 16 It also seems that the Commission has become less…
Patent Ambushing
Patent speak is constantly enriched. By now we know what “Patent Trolls” or Patent Vultures are, don’t we? In fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen these ugly creatures are portrayed as friendly or mischievous dwarfs or as giants, that live in…
The Spider is Dead, Long Live the EPLA
European and US IP practitioners have eagerly awaited the Advocate General’s opinion in the Roche-Primus case. Today the AG, Philippe Léger, published his opinion in this important case (not yet available in English). The case was referred by the Netherlands…
What’s so complex about Drafting Beer?
Ask the Judge in The Hague. Heineken sued Philips over a contraption called “the beer tender”. Basically it is a small tap one can use to draft a nice glass of beer from an even smaller vat. So nothing special…