Entrepreneurs
Can you patent digital assistant technology?
In this article, we look at a patent application for virtual assistant technology, and provide advice on whether this sort of software-based innovation is patentable.
Delaying grant of a European Patent to obtain a Unitary Patent
With 1 October 2022 being the possible start date of the Unitary Patent system, applicants achieving allowance of their European patent applications in the coming months may wish to delay grant so as to obtain a Unitary Patent (UP).
The Unitary Patent
The UP will, for the first time, offer patent proprietors the option to have a single patent covering multiple EU member states (17 at the time of writing, likely to be more in the future). As an alternative, the current “classical” validation route in different states will continue.
G02/21: what are the implications for opposition proceedings right now?
It appears that the EPO will stay proceedings in cases where the assessment of inventive step is exclusively reliant on whether post-published evidence can be taken into consideration.
T1989/18: No legal basis for description conformity requirement
Following a 2021 Board of Appeal decision, patent applications cannot be refused on the grounds that the description describes something that is not (or no longer) claimed.
A sense of déjà vu – M&S v Aldi
Trainee patent attorney Mykhailo Pokrachynskyi explains the latest legal proceedings between M&S and Aldi.
