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EPO oppositions are well established, meaning there are many lessons for patent owners and challengers, as Arnie Clarke and Jack Shepherd explain

Japan’s current opposition system was introduced in April 2015, and imposes strict deadlines on parties. Yoichi Watanabe provides a guide

With the revisions to the Patent Act introduced this year, there will soon be more options to challenge patents in Korea. Leon Kim and Hyun-Sil Lee explain

Last month marked the fourth anniversary of Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings becoming available. While early cases suggested that the Board would be a graveyard for patents, in the past year a more nuanced picture has emerged. Michael Loney identifies 10 issues to watch

Innovation is recognised as the major driver of economic growth and creation of highly qualified jobs.

For years, the courts have been preoccupied with infringement proceedings that are conducted by standard essential patents (SEP) holders, who previously submitted declarations as part of the standardization process, namely assurances that prospective licensees will be granted licences under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) conditions. The dispute is particularly about the extent to which an SEP can be enforced in court by dominant companies without them, in doing so, breaching the antitrust abuse law under Article 102 TFEU.

Bolstered by a federal statute which gives the Olympic names and symbols special protections beyond the basic principles of trade mark law and entitles the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to broader enforcement rights than ordinary trade mark owners, the USOC has long pursued an aggressive enforcement position against attempts by third parties to associate themselves with the Olympic games without permission.

On June 27 2016, the Belgian legislature finally adopted a new exception to copyright law, namely the freedom of panorama (FOP). According to this new provision, a copyright owner cannot impose its right against "the reproduction and public communication of visual, graphic or architectural artwork intended to be placed permanently in public places, providing that it concerns the reproduction or communication of the work as it is and that said reproduction or public communication does not affect the normal exploitation of the work and does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author" (Belgian Act of June 27 2016 modifying the Economic codex in view of implementing the freedom of panorama – new article XI.190 2/1° of the Economic codex).

The supervisory authority of the EPO, the Administrative Council, decided in its July meeting on the long-debated structural reform of the Boards of Appeal. Despite rumours that the Boards would be moved away from Munich to for example Berlin or Vienna, the AC eventually decided that the Boards will remain in Munich, albeit in premises not shared with other departments of the EPO.

The Indonesian Parliament finally passed the draft new Patent Law on July 28 2016. This new Patent Law has recently been introduced as Law Number 13 of 2016, and is to replace Law Number 14 of 2001 on Patents.