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 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

Uses of machine learning and AI are expanding rapidly, and IP rights play a critical role in both regulating the use of AI and protecting the rights of inventors and creators. In this series, we will explore the key challenges governments worldwide are currently grappling with in order to provide the right level of protection … Read more

The UK Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee (which recently conducted an inquiry into the impact of AI on several sectors) has published The Governance of Artificial Intelligence: Interim Report identifying 12 challenges of AI, including that for intellectual property, and recommends legislation during this parliament. The report also expresses concerns that the UK will fall behind if there are delays, given the moves made by the EU and US to regulate AI already. On IP it recommends that where AI models and tools make use of other people’s content, policy must establish the rights of the originators of this content, and these rights must be enforced. Read more

Dr Thaler’s latest attempt to obtain IP protection for “creations” of his AI system has failed, with a US Court rejecting copyright protection for an AI-generated artwork. 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

Dr Craig Wright claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin and is asserting three Bitcoin-related copyright claims against a number of entities. In the appeal from the decision of Meade J that there was no serious issue to be tried on the merits of the claim in relation to copyright in the Bitcoin File Format (required in order for permission to be granted to service defendants outside the jurisdiction), Lord Justice Arnold and the Court of Appeal unanimously held that there was a serious issue to be tried, allowing the appeal and in the process elucidating the requirement for fixation in copyright claims. 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