IPR & Legal

A proposal to create a single jurisdiction for the litigation of patent disputes in the European Union is gathering political support.

The European Patent Convention (EPC), a multilateral treaty establishing the legal framework for patent awards in Europe, has been updated and the new agreement is scheduled to take effect on 13 December 2007. It succeeds the original Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973.

Patent judges from around Europe have signalled their support for a proposal that would create a single jurisdiction for the litigation of patent disputes in the European Union.

The French Senate has approved the London Agreement, which reduces the translation requirements for patents in Europe.

Marks & Clerk is to absorb the Lloyd Wise Group in a merger scheduled for completion by the end of 2007. Both firms are patent and trade mark attorneys based in London.

A proposed reform of US patent law, which is now before the US Congress, could have a significant impact on European life science companies doing business in the US as well as on efforts towards international patent harmonisation.

Novartis AG is seeking to get a decision by India’s Patent Office overturned by the country’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) despite losing a separate appeal in the High Court.

The Netherlands has updated the rules governing the dispensing of pharmaceuticals, as well as the responsibilities of the national regulator, the Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB), in a major revision of its medicines legislation.

The number of international patent applications filed by biotechnology companies under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) dropped by two-thirds from 2002 to 2006, while applications to national and regional agencies were little changed over the same period, according to the UK solicitors, Marks & Clerk.