In the latest edition of the HSF Automotive sector's series of articles looking at the evolution of the industry Andrew Moir, Ina vom Feld, Frédéric Chevallier, David Webb and Laura Adde of our London, Düsseldorf and Paris IP teams consider some of the key issues surrounding standard essential patents or SEPs for those in the sector. These include, in particular, how standards work, their role in the Automotive sector, how fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing operates, and the risks of litigation and the varying approaches across Europe (in the UK, Germany and France in particular). Read more

The final Brexit agreement, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement was agreed between the UK and the EU on 24 December 2020. Within this agreement are provisions that set out the standards expected to be recognised (mutually) between the EU and the UK in relation to intellectual property (including SPCs and trade secrets). There are some provisions concerning pharmaceutical regulation and product standards, but overall there is a lack of mutual recognition, with the consequence that, for both pharmaceuticals and medical devices, there are now effectively two separate regimes for the EU and the UK. Read more

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) took another step closer to coming into being on November 26 with a Bundestag vote passing the legislation necessary for Germany to ratify the UPC Agreement and the Protocol on Provisional Application with (more than) the two thirds majority found to be required by the German Federal Constitutional Court in … Read more

The European Commission has this week published a wide-ranging and ambitious Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe, and an Action Plan on Intellectual Property. Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe The new pharmaceutical strategy for Europe is a key pillar of the European Health Union, which President von der Leyen called for in her 2020 State of the Union … Read more

Key recent developments in the United Kingdom and Europe relating to patents and the pharmaceutical sector In this edition we cover several important UK decisions relating to Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) and FRAND licensing, including the UK Supreme Court decision in Unwired Planet, a subsequent decision concerning jurisdictional issues in FRAND proceedings and a decision striking out … Read more

On 6 November 2020, the Technical Board of Appeal (TBA) issued a written decision in case T 844/18, which concerned whether or not the Broad Institute’s patent (EP 2 771 468) relating to CRISPR gene editing technology could validly claim priority from several US provisional applications. In summary, the TBA confirmed that the applicable rules … Read more

When the world finally emerges from the public health crisis that is COVID-19, we will all be reminded that the crisis presented by climate change remains, and looms larger than ever. Read more

A 4:3 majority of the High Court of Australia has today overturned the Full Federal Court’s unanimous decision in Calidad v Seiko (2019) 270 FCR 572. Today’s decision breaks with the Privy Council’s 1911 decision in Menck1 and holds that in Australia the doctrine of ‘exhaustion of rights’ should apply, not one of ‘implied licence’. Read more