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Tufty the Cat: February 2015

http://tuftythecat.blogspot.com/2015_02_01_archive.html

Commentary on developments in UK and European patent law. Saturday, 21 February 2015. Electronic filing is now the standard way to do most things at the European Patent Office, apart from the obvious exceptions where an appearance in person is required. The EPO's online filing. A key feature of the EPO's online filing software is the use of a smart card. Smart cards are credit card-sized plastic cards that contain a microprocessor and a small amount of memory. Performed on the signed documents. Indicatin...

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Tufty the Cat: Don't let your patent go up in smoke

http://tuftythecat.blogspot.com/2015/07/dont-let-your-patent-go-up-in-smoke.html

Commentary on developments in UK and European patent law. Friday, 10 July 2015. Don't let your patent go up in smoke. Renewal fees are payable to the UK IPO on GB and EP(UK) patents each year, by the end of the month in which the anniversary of the filing date falls ( rule 37. If this is missed, an extra six months is allowed for paying the fee, with surcharge ( section 25(4). Who must be shown to have the intention to pay. At their premises involving 5000 tonnes of stockpiled waste material, and which r...

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Tufty the Cat: Time-Lapse IVF & Article 53 revisited

http://tuftythecat.blogspot.com/2015/03/time-lapse-ivf-article-53-revisited.html

Commentary on developments in UK and European patent law. Thursday, 19 March 2015. Time-Lapse IVF and Article 53 revisited. A while back about a journal article and subsequent opposition to European patent EP2430454. Which claims a method of assessing competence of a human embryo through measurements of time intervals between the first few cell divisions (an illustration of cytokinesis is shown on the right, taken from this web page. I) the diagnosis for curative purposes stricto sensu. Step (i) of the r...

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Tufty the Cat: June 2015

http://tuftythecat.blogspot.com/2015_06_01_archive.html

Commentary on developments in UK and European patent law. Wednesday, 17 June 2015. Opinions and Revocation - Continued. Earlier this year I wrote. About the first couple of Patent Office opinions under section 74A. That issued under the new provisions of section 73(1A)&(1B). Where the comptroller now has the option of initiating revocation if an opinion finds a patent to lack novelty or inventive step. You should note that the decision not to initiate action under section 73(1A) does not alter or set asi...

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Tufty the Cat: November 2013

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Commentary on developments in UK and European patent law. Friday, 1 November 2013. In search of a technical effect. This is a repost of an article that will shortly be appearing in the October 2013 edition of the CIPA Journal. For anyone who doesn't want to know the score before the issue is published, please look away now. Alternatively, read on for a version in which I have incorporated links to the relevant case law and other material. Commented by me here. Over the period from 1989 to 2013 (see here.

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Tufty the Cat: Opinions & Revocation - Continued

http://tuftythecat.blogspot.com/2015/06/opinions-revocation-continued.html

Commentary on developments in UK and European patent law. Wednesday, 17 June 2015. Opinions and Revocation - Continued. Earlier this year I wrote. About the first couple of Patent Office opinions under section 74A. That issued under the new provisions of section 73(1A)&(1B). Where the comptroller now has the option of initiating revocation if an opinion finds a patent to lack novelty or inventive step. You should note that the decision not to initiate action under section 73(1A) does not alter or set asi...

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Tufty the Cat: October 2013

http://tuftythecat.blogspot.com/2013_10_01_archive.html

Commentary on developments in UK and European patent law. Friday, 18 October 2013. Time-Lapse IVF - A non-patentable method of diagnosis? States that European patents shall not be granted in respect of " methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and diagnostic methods practised on the human or animal body. In Ghent. The abstract of the article, which is currently available in full online here. As a preprint, states:. European Patent No. 2430454. None of these are, of course,...

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Tufty the Cat: January 2015

http://tuftythecat.blogspot.com/2015_01_01_archive.html

Commentary on developments in UK and European patent law. Thursday, 15 January 2015. Enforcing Second Medical Use Claims. The same provision, however, also states that this does not apply to products, in particular substances or compositions, for use in any of these methods. Of the UK Patents Act for selling or offering to sell a product clearly indicated as being for the new patented use, is it also possible to go after doctors who prescribe an existing generic drug for the new patented use? Use of (S)-...

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Tufty the Cat: Partial Priority - Questions for the Enlarged Board

http://tuftythecat.blogspot.com/2015/08/partial-priority-questions-for-enlarged.html

Commentary on developments in UK and European patent law. Thursday, 13 August 2015. Partial Priority - Questions for the Enlarged Board. Back in January I wrote about an appeal case at the EPO where a referral to the Enlarged Board on the question of partial priorities was going to be made. The Board in T 557/13 has now finally issued their decision, which is available here. In brief, European patent EP0921183. The claim was not entitled to priority and lacked novelty over the priority document. In my vi...

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Tufty the Cat: September 2014

http://tuftythecat.blogspot.com/2014_09_01_archive.html

Commentary on developments in UK and European patent law. Friday, 19 September 2014. Surrendering a patent, which is possible under section 29. Of the UK Patents Act 1977, is an unusual option to take, although it does happen fairly regularly. In the year to date, according to the UK IPO online patents journal. 20 applications have been made to surrender patents. Over the past eight years (the period the journal has been available in electronic form), section 29 has been used 178 times. Including particu...