Search results for

In a recent decision, T 773/10 of October 24 2014 (published on January 7 2015), a Technical Board of Appeal of the EPO has decided that a new therapeutic use of a known medical device cannot confer novelty within the meaning of the European Patent Convention.

It was a good idea to buy indulgence for sins committed in the Middle Ages. As time went on, humankind dropped the idea of buying expiation for money. However the idea survived through the ages and found a new expression in the market economy. The idea lacks inventive level or novelty but some people all the same are lured into believing that there may be something in it. It is like a Ponzi scheme: people plunge into the adventure, come out befooled, some time passes and other people believe they will have a better luck.

After the National People's Congress Standing Committee announced its decision to establish IP specialised courts, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai have opened their IP courts on November 6, December 16 and December 28 2014 respectively.

To compensate patent owners for the time it takes to obtain regulatory and marketing approval for new drugs, the Australian Patents Act provides for patent term extensions of up to five years. However, in order to have an extension of term granted, a number of requirements need to be satisfied. One of these requirements is that a patent discloses and claims a pharmaceutical substance per se or a pharmaceutical substance produced by a process that involves the use of recombinant DNA technology.

On December 10 2014, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), in cooperation with the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), posted a notice on its website asking for comments on the proposed Rules and Regulations on Intellectual Property Rights Application and Registration Protecting the Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices of the Indigenous Cultural Communities, the objective of which is to prevent the misappropriation of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and encourage tradition-based creations and innovations. The salient points of the proposed rules are:

Singapore and China strengthened IP cooperation with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on October 27 2014 between the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) to jointly develop the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City.

Aaron Tantleff outlines how big data licensing differs from traditional data licensing, and gives an overview of the IP issues involved

The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling of the England & Wales High Court that Topshop committed passing off by using Rihanna’s image on t-shirts

The UK government will propose legislation to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes within the next two months, meaning it would come into force next year

Nearly two years after the Novartis decision, questions about India's Section 3(d) remain