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13.12.2024

An EPO decision has instigated a radical change in the understanding of the last point in which a divisional may be filed.

A decision J1/24 from the Legal Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (see also factually corresponding J2/24) has recently been handed down. J1/24 has radically changed the long‑understood view that a divisional patent application of a European patent application can only be filed up until the day before the date of the mention of grant of a European patent.

16.10.2024

Following a criminal complaint filed by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), in September 2024 the criminal court of Munich, Germany has convicted three fraudsters for sending misleading payment requests to trade mark owners.

The defendants’ conduct was considered commercial fraud, leading to a sentence of 22 months imprisonment for each defendant and the confiscation of €200,000 (the amount unlawfully obtained) to be used for compensation.

30.08.2024

What’s the UPC and what’s changing?

The commencement of the new Unified Patent Court (UPC) and Unitary Patent System on 1^st June 2023, was the culmination of decades of work to further harmonise and unify the patent law landscape in Europe. With the arrival of the new court, rights holders have been granted a new forum for litigation and patent enforcement which allows a single decision to have a binding effect in multiple national European states, while a single Unitary Patent (UP) can be maintained to preserve rights in all of the UPC signatory states.

From its inception in 2023, the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) has had effect in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Sweden, a region home to more than 330 million people.

15.05.2024

WP Thompson was among the winners in SME News Magazine's 2024 UK Legal Awards.