Our publications
Infringement of the Protected Geographical Indication COGNAC
The INPI recognizes an infringement of the Protected Geographical Indication COGNAC by a trademark claiming eaux de vie benefiting from the geographical indication "Cognac". The COGNAC appellation is protected as a Protected Geographical Indication +
National measures accompanying the implementation of the unitary patent
It is expected that the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) will enter into force in spring 2023. At the same time the European Union regulation 1257/2012 and 1260/2012 will enter into force +
Systematic top-up search for earlier national rights by the EPO
The EPO will conduct additional searches to determine earlier national rights and further determine their prima facie relevance starting September 1, 2022. The EPO already carries out a search for prior European patent applications, +
EPO welcomes Montenegro as new member state
Montenegro accomplished the final step towards acceding to the European Patent Convention on July 15, 2022, and will thus become the 39th member state of the European Patent Organisation from October 1st, 2022. 1. +
METAVERSE: How to protect trademarks and designs in a virtual universe?
The Metaverse is a new place of exchange, not only for playful activities but also for commercial ones. Brands and products known on the traditional markets are offered to Metaverse users. A new trend +
EPO survey on grace period
1. The European Patent Office published recently the result of a survey regarding a grace period for novelty. The EPC requires to date strict novelty for the subject matter of EP patents, rendering publication of +
EPO publishes second edition of the Unitary Patent Guide
Background It is expected that the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) will enter into force end of 2022 or beginning of 2023. At the same time the European Union regulation 1257/2012 and +
Record Filings at the European Patent Office in 2021
Despite the pandemic filings of European patent applications increased again. 188 600 patent applications were received by European Patent Office (EPO) in 2021, which is an increase of 4.5% in comparison to the previous +
Transfer of IP rights for free: the downside of gratuity
The transfer of intellectual property rights free of charge must be qualified as a donation, and as such must comply with the requirements specific to the matter (Decision of the Paris Court of Justice, +
National, regional and international offices to implement the standard WIPO ST.26 for the sequence listings as of july 1, 2022
The Committee on WIPO Standards (CWS) adopted new WIPO Standard ST.26, which represents nucleotide and amino acid sequences listings in XML, replacing WIPO Standard ST.25. The representation of sequence listings in XML format rather +
Providing evidence of trademark exploitation within new invalidity proceedings is critic
The invalidity procedure has been modified by the provisions of the "Loi Pacte" (in force since December 11, 2019) in particular with regard to its admissibility conditions, which, with respect to the evidence of +
UPC and opt-out: definition, advantages and drawbacks
The present system of European (EP) patents granted by the European Patent Office, has the drawback that the same patent, validated in several states, may lead to several parallel disputes in these jurisdictions. The +
Again, and again: the UPC agreement is further challenged in Germany
Although the German Parliament («Bundesrat») recently voted in favor of the ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) (that we reported here), and despite the political will (see there), the German ratification of the UPCA +
The german federal government officially ratified the UPC act of approval on august 13th
The publication of the law in the Federal Law Gazette finally puts an end to the legal complications that have been blocking the german ratification process and, consequently, the establishment of the Unified Patent +
The protocol on the provisional application of the UPC agreement
The Protocol to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court on provisional application (the PAP-Protocol) was initially signed on 1st October 2015 to establish a Phase of Provisional Application (PAP) to ensure « a smooth transition +
Entry into force of the protocol on provisional application of the UPC Agreement (PAP)
The European Council has just indicated on its website that the Protocol to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court on provisional application (also called PAP) has entered into force yesterday, January 19, 2022. +
How to select the european patent with the unitary effect (Unitary Patent)
Unitary Patent a unique protection for 17 states in Europe With the recent ratification of Austria, the European Patent with unitary effect (“Unitary Patent”) will be introduced soon. This title enables to get a patent +
German Federal Constitutionnal Court’s decision
By order of June 23, 2021, the German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) rejected two applications for preliminary injunction against the Act of Approval that was adopted on December 18, 2020, for the purposes of +
The current state of play towards the set up of the Unified Patent Court
The Unified Patent Court Agreement will enter into a provisional preparatory stage once 13 signatory states of the Agreement including Germany, France and the United Kingdom and having ratified said Agreement have ratified or +
EPO announces raise of fees from 1 april 2022
The EPO’s Rules relating to Fees have been amended by decision of the Administrative Council of 15 December 2021. The amended version of the Rules relating to Fees is applicable as from 1 April +
Preparation for the european patent with unitary effect at the EPO
The European Patent with unitary effect (“Unified Patent”) will be introduced soon. The final stage of the preparatory work will be accomplished by the end of this summer and the final missing ratification will +
Artificial intelligence system DABUS
Artificial intelligence system called DABUS cannot be named as inventor according to Decisions J 8/20 and J 9/20 of the Board of Appeal of the EPO Legal background Article 81 EPC stipulates that the +
Pharmaceutical trademarks and INPI applications for revocation (Loi Pacte)
I. Assessment of use with respect to products In our previous review of case law on pharmaceutical trademarks, we examined the differences in practice between the European Union and French courts in identifying the +
European Patent Office rated top for patent and service quality
The Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) once again initiated a benchmarking survey and let users vote among the world's five largest patent offices for the quality of its patents and services. Again, the EPO has +