Romania joins the Unified Patent Court (UPC)
Romania deposited its instrument of ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement on 31 May 2024, becoming the 18th member state to ratify the Agreement.
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T 1762/21 – Added matter and intermediate generalisations: when are features “inextricably linked”?
Sarah Gibbs discusses a recent decision from the European Patent Office on how intermediate generalisations should be assessed for added matter.
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Don’t miss out on the EPO’s new fee reductions for micro entities
Getting a patent granted for your innovation can be a costly process. There are, of course, fees associated with the work your patent attorneys do to advise you, to prepare your patent application, and to work with the Patent Office to obtain a granted patent for you.
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Biological deposits for patents, the Five “W”s: Why, What, Where, When and Who?
Rachel Mercer discusses how biological deposits can be used to fulfil the requirements of a sufficient disclosure for patent applications involving biological material.
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The Greenshoots Podcast by Appleyard Lees – one year of the Unified Patent Court – what’s been filed? Statistics, three notable cases & commentary
In this episode, Appleyard Lees patent attorneys Kate Hickinson and Edward Rainsford discuss: what has been filed at the UPC so far.
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Deepfakes, Intellectual Property law and Tom Hanks’ apparent dental plan
Consider this hypothetical scenario: You are a famous actor, you’ve played the role of a merchant mariner taken hostage by pirates, a pilot and a character who likes to run and whose mama told them life was like a box of chocolates. One day, you wake up to see a hyper-realistic video of yourself on the internet advertising a dental plan that you’re unaware of.
Read more The Greenshoots Podcast by Appleyard Lees – current priorities for in-house IP teams
In this episode, Appleyard Lees partners and patent attorneys Ean Davies and Adam Tindall discuss the current challenges in-house IP teams face when it comes to protecting innovation, and look at how the priorities of in-house teams have changed in recent years.
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Trainee blog: supporting our charity of the year
Written by trainees for trainees.
In this trainee blog, trainee patent attorney Oliver Manners discusses some of the ways in which Appleyard Lees supports its annual chosen charity. Oliver talks about the events he attended in our Manchester office, and provides the recipe that won him this year's Manchester office charity bake-off.
How can brands avoid a dogfight when using comparative advertising?
There is a fine line between fair competition and trade mark infringement - in this article, one IP expert breaks down the differences and how they applied in a relevant 2024 case.
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Glossary of patent terms – part 3 of 3
In this three-part glossary, we lead you through some of the key terminology you may come across when you’re going through the patent process.
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T 1473/19 – claim interpretation, added matter, and the importance of a comma
In a recent decision from the European Patent Office (EPO), T 1473/19, the Board of Appeal revoked a patent for added subject matter, due to its interpretation that claim 1 lacked basis in the description of the application as filed. Senior associate and patent attorney Sarah Gibbs, and patent attorney Amelia Barton, explain how this case highlights the importance of precise claim drafting, and the potential pitfalls when there are discrepancies between the claims and the description of the invention.
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