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The European Patent Office uses the well-established problem-and-solution approach when assessing inventive step (cf. Guidelines for Examination at the EPO G.VII 5). A crucial part of this analysis is the starting point, known as the "closest prior art".

In early 2018, a radical change to civil procedure was introduced as a result of Law 4512/2018. The change relates to compulsory mediation as an obligatory pre-trial stage for certain civil and commercial disputes. IP-related cases are included in these. Thus, before the filing of any IP-related main action lawsuit, the claimant must follow the designated mediation process, so that there is no procedural impediment to the trial. These legal provisions were scheduled to apply to any main action lawsuits filed from October 17 2018.

In a decision handed down on January 16 2018, the German Federal Patent Court confirmed that an opposition against a trade mark can be based on a company name (28 W (pat) 7/16 - eberth/EBERTH).

Iancu says guidance is needed on patentable subject matter eligibility to get out of a “rut”, particularly on the how Section 101 is different from Sections 102, 103 and 112

A declaration of invalidity for EU device mark with word element 'la mafia - se sienta a la mesa' for goods and services in Classes 25, 35 and Class 43 lodged by the Italian Republic was upheld by the Board of Appeal of the EUIPO and confirmed as contrary to public policy as set out in Article 7(1)(f) of Regulation No 207/2009, now Article 7(1)(f) of Regulation 2017/1001. The owner of the contested sign filed an appeal against this decision before the Court of First Instance.

In the patent battle between Nikon and ASML in relation to which 11 cases were pending before the District Court of The Hague, the Court recently ruled on case three.

Amicus brief in Fourth Estate v Wall-Street.com urges the Supreme Court to affirm the appeal court’s decision, which favoured the registration approach in copyright infringement litigation

Observers say the Unwired Planet ruling sets out a blueprint for licensing standard essential patents, cements the UK’s position as an attractive forum to enforce SEPs and has implications for 5G

Karry Lai speaks with INTA's chief Asia-Pacific representative about recent policy initiatives, including targeting counterfeits and harmonising trade mark policies

Trade secrets, the UDRP and copycat likability were some of the big topics to come up at this year’s MARQUES annual conference in Paris