Fee related amendments before the EPO and decision of EU Commission on full ban on patents for NGT plants
The EU Parliament approved the EU Commission’s proposals for new rules on plants obtained through ‚New Genomic Techniques‘ (NGTs) on February 7, 2024. The key aspects of the proposals can be summarized as follows: Accordingly, it is proposed to introduce two Articles (Article 4a and Art 33a) into Biotech Patent Directive 98/44/EC and the EU […]
Important new developments related to Patents in Europe
Although with some delay, Germany has finally announced in a statement of the federal Ministry of Justice that it has ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court. The specific date on which the UPC will start is defined by the first day of the fourth month after the deposit of the German instrument of […]
UPC announces further postponement of its launch
Although the UPC repeatedly confirmed until November 2022 that the launch date of the UPC, which was scheduled to open its doors on April 1, 2023, would be maintained, a recent statement published on the official UPC website announced that the beginning of the “sunrise period” and, therefore, the launch of the UPC will be […]
Important decisions prior to the launch of the Unitary Patent system
After many years, starting with the EU regulations establishing the Unitary Patent system of January 20, 2013, the UPC Agreement is expected to enter into force in the last quarter of 2022 or early in 2023. The specific date on which the UPC will start is defined by the first day of the fourth month […]
