On 17 October 2023, Mr Justice Mellor of the UK High Court handed down the long-awaited judgment (some 14 months after trial) in the patent infringement action commenced by Astellas against Teva and Sandoz, in relation to their proposed generic mirabegron tablets, which is used to treat overactive bladder. The action between the parties concerned EP 2,345,410 (EP'410), a modified release formulation patent with a priority date of 2008.  The defendants alleged that the patent was invalid for insufficiency and obviousness, arguing that the claims of EP'410 were excessively broad and exceeded any relevant technical contribution to the art. Read more

In its first four months of operation, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) has accepted over 250 actions and made over 45 orders. These cases span a variety of sectors, including life sciences, consumer goods, and mechanical engineering, and involve parties from the US, India, UK, Switzerland, and UPC participating EU states. Here we take a look at some of the most significant developments and you can register for our briefing for more detailed analysis and coverage. Read more

In this instalment of our series The IP in AI, we consider whether patents can be awarded for inventions made by AI systems, and the challenges faced by patent law in protecting innovation in an AI-enabled world. Read more

The European Patent Office has released a “Unitary Patent dashboard” offering “a timely snapshot of applicants’ eagerness to opt for the Unitary Patent”. Live figures show that as of today, 1 August 2023, there have been 5665 requests for unitary effect, with the most popular technologies being Infrastructure & Mechanics (20.8%), Health (19.2%) and Materials … Read more

Six weeks into the new Unified Patent Court and unitary patent, both elements of the new system seem to have taken off, with unitary patents proving popular and the first cases being filed (17 infringement and 3 revocation actions to date). Whilst opt-outs are high and teething problems remain with the case search systems and some practical procedural issues, a certain UPC momentum is developing, with the first preliminary injunctions and orders also being granted. Read more

On 1 June 2023, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and unitary patent (UP) system finally launched, bringing with it fundamental changes to the patent landscape across Europe. Laura Orlando, Milan Partner and Joint Global Head of Intellectual Property at Herbert Smith Freehills, was recently interviewed by Amy Sandys at JUVE Patent, alongside other private practice and in-house IP lawyers, to discuss some of their hopes, potential challenges, and what the UPC means to them. Read more

Today marks the launch of the new Unified Patent Court (UPC) and unitary patent (UP) system in Europe – the culmination of decades of work, bringing with it fundamental changes to the way in which patents can be litigated in Europe. Find out more about the UPC, the unitary patent, and how our fully integrated … Read more

On 18 May 2023, the Italian government confirmed that the third Central Division seat of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will be hosted in Milan. The statement issued by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has said that the new seat will be operational within one year. However, with the UPC launch date approaching on 1 June 2023, Paris and Munich will initially share the caseload until Milan is operational, as confirmed by the UPC Presidium on 16 May 2023 (see our previous blog post). Read more