Understanding Patent Applications and Methods for Best Approaches in Europe and the U.S.
As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies increasingly generate content, designs, code, inventions, and even music, businesses face a pressing legal question: who owns the output when a machine creates it? The legal...more
The Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued a new decision – G 1/24 – addressing the diverging approaches to claim interpretation when assessing patentability. Following this decision, the...more
Key Takeaways: - The Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) of the European Patent Office (EPO) issued its opinion in G1/24 on June 18, 2025 resolving divergent case law on how patent claims should be interpreted at the EPO. - The...more
On June 1, 2025, the Unified Patent Court marked its second anniversary - we are one of very few firms that has top-tier patent litigators in all major EU jurisdictions and the UK – we’ve been defending clients in...more
In a recent decision the Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) has for the first time addressed the use of AI to support arguments on claim interpretation, in this case deciding that ChatGPT cannot be used as a...more
UPC case law on the assessment of inventive step is still evolving. Most local division (LD) decisions have indicated a slightly diverging practice from the EPO’s problem-solution approach. However, more recently, others have...more
The European Patent Office (EPO) provides reductions to many of the official fees due during the grant procedure of a European patent application. These reductions can significantly reduce the total costs of bringing a...more
With nearly 800 cases adjudicated or pending thus far at the Unified Patent Court (UPC), a possible procedural gap has appeared in the European patent system: no clear legal mechanism currently exists to resolve conflicting...more
Modern gene-editing technology, such as CRISPR/Cas technology, represents a ground-breaking advancement that has transformed our genetic engineering capabilities and has enormous potential for revolutionising medicine, food...more
As expected, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is raising its fees this year, effective January 19, 2025. However, the USPTO is doing something a little unusual this time—they’re raising the cost of filing...more
Less than two months after CVC made the surprising move to revoke two of its seminal European CRISPR patents, Sigma-Aldrich has done it too. While the facts that led to Sigma’s “self” revocation may be different than CVC’s,...more
In a landmark decision (UPC_CFI_15/2023) delivered on November 15, 2024, the Unified Patent Court's Local Division in Munich (UPC, LDM) ruled in favor of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation in a patent infringement case against...more
As European medtech companies look to expand their presence in the U.S. market, understanding the intricacies of U.S. patent law becomes increasingly important. The U.S. market, being the largest for medical technologies,...more
There is no shortage of surprises and twists in the decade-long fight over the control of dominant IP in the CRISPR space. The newest one is the self-revocation of two seminal CRISPR patents in Europe by the team led by two...more
The European Patent Office ("EPO") currently requires applicants to adapt descriptions to allowable claims. This practice is risky, expensive, and not clearly grounded in the law....more
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is revolutionizing the way patents are enforced in Europe, and McDermott’s intellectual property (IP) team is here to help you navigate this dynamic landscape. Our Legal Lens on the Unified...more
In March 2024, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry published changes to its 2003 Patent Rules. These applicant-friendly changes include (1) a relaxation in the rules relating to the submission of information...more
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is revolutionizing the way patents are enforced in Europe, and McDermott’s intellectual property team is here to help you navigate this dynamic landscape. Our Legal Lens on the Unified Patent...more
While the genus antibody claim was effectively killed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Amgen v. Sanofi, it lives on in Europe despite a few recent setbacks at the European Patent Office ("EPO") and the Unified Patent Court...more
Recently, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released proposed guidelines addressing the complex issue of AI inventorship. The PTO is not the only agency attempting to tackle this issue; jurisdictions...more
The rapid increase in innovation and popularity surrounding AI, its capabilities and seemingly endless applications has created a technological revolution, the magnitude of which hasn’t been seen for decades. This has led to...more
Franz Kaldewei GmbH & Co. KG v. Bette GmbH & Co. KG The Unified Patent Court (UPC) issued its first decision on the merits, granting the first-ever permanent injunction covering seven UPC member states. Franz Kaldewei GmbH &...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that outlines a new framework for collaboration between the two...more
As the era of biologics and biosimilar litigations heats up in the United States, Europe’s Unified Patent Court (UPC) is also taking center stage with the first two biosimilar disputes filed in March and April....more
On March 1, 2024, updated Guidelines for Examination (“Guidelines”) in the European Patent Office (“EPO”) went into effect. The updated Guidelines included substantive changes with broad implications for the patentability of...more