Patents: CIPO allows one-click patent, but questions remain

26 January 2012

Amazon's controversial patent on the so-called one-click method of online shopping was granted in Canada just before Christmas, following a Federal Court of Appeal decision in November. An amendment to the patent application was filed at CIPO just under one month after the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the patent should be re-examined using the guidance outlined in its decision. While the decision is good news for patenting business methods in Canada, some would have liked to see the Commissioner appeal to the Supreme Court to gain additional clarity about the Court of Appeal's decision. Because there was no additional office action, the Office's interpretation of the decision is unknown, and will remain so until new guidelines for examiners on business methods are issued, which is likely to be some time. The quick allowance of the patent suggests that the new commissioner, Sylvain Laporte, may differ significantly from former commissioner Mary Carman on business method patents.

EU

Lawyers welcome Swiss patent court. Litigators in Switzerland say the country's new Federal Patent Court should make cases quicker and decisions more consistent. The new Court came into operation on January 1. It will hear all disputes relating to the validity and infringements of patents and supplementary protection certificates. Disputes over other IP rights will still be heard in the cantonal courts.

US

Supreme Court grills USPTO. The USPTO in December faced aggressive questioning from Supreme Court justices regarding the agency's request to overturn a Federal Circuit en banc ruling it says will encourage patent applicants to withhold evidence in examination. In Kappos v Hyatt, the USPTO said litigants in a district court appeal of a USPTO decision should not be allowed to introduce evidence that was not before the USPTO.

China

Win for method patent owners. An Opinion by China's Supreme People's Court should make it easier for owners of method patents to prove infringement. The opinion outlines a series of policies and rules on patent, trade mark and copyright issues, but IP lawyers said the section on method patents, which says the judiciary should reduce the burden of proving infringement for the patentee, is most important.

Australia

Australians get Galaxy 10.1 Australian shoppers can now buy Samsung's Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer, after the High Court turned down Apple's request to appeal a lower court decision refusing a temporary injunction in December. The High Court denied Apple's application for special leave to appeal with costs. The decision means that the tablet computer started to appear in Australian shops just in time for the crucial Christmas period.

The USPTO has agreed a five-year lease for a 31,000 square foot space in Detroit to house the first USPTO satellite office.

The EU Court of Justice has ruled that member states can grant negative supplementary protection certificates, which will help pharma companies win six-month research extensions.

The International Trade Commission has initially found that Motorola infringed four claims in a Microsoft patent.

A proposal to split India's patent and trade mark agencies has been opposed by many practitioners, recommending a unified agency with greater financial autonomy and more examiners.

The world's first IP exchange, IPXI, completed a $10 million funding round in December, which will allow it to offer its first shares by early summer.

A report said IBM holds the most US patents for the 19th year in a row, but Samsung's patent applications have eclipsed those of IBM for the past two years.

British Telecom is suing Google in Delaware for infringement of six patents used in Google's Android mobile operating system.

The Portuguese government has taken radical steps, including imposing compulsory arbitration, in an attempt to improve access to generic medicines.