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"International Patent Law"
One of our most successful presentations on business trips to Asia in recent years was the one about “Dos and Don’ts in European Filings” covering many practical hints that should be observed – possibly already at the drafting stage – upon filing direct EP applications with the EPO or entering the EP regional phase via the PCT route.
At KSNH we are very happy to announce that an article by my colleagues Jochen Höhfeld and Shino Tanaka summarising this lecture has been recently accepted for publication by major IP journals in Japan, China, and Korea:
Japanese:
JPAA Journal “Patent”, Vol.66, No.4, 2013.3, pp. 14-19
Chinese:
China IP News, 2013-05-31, issue 1427, p. 8 (part 1)
China IP News, 2013-06-07, issue 1429, p. 8 (part 2)
Korean:
KPAA Association Journal, May 20, 2013, pages 6, 7
(see also here, No. 162 제810호, 2013.05.20)
Basically, the articles cover the following topics:
Claim Drafting
- Limitation of number of claims
- One independent claim per category
- Unity of the invention
- Reference numnerals
- Multiple independent claims
- Functional claim features
- Clarity of the claim language
- Claims in two-part-form (Jepson-type claims)
- Claim amendments
Drafting the specification:
- Number of pages
- Basis for claim amendments
- Discussion of prior art
- Abstract
- Incorporation by reference
Organisational issues:
- Format of pages
- Entering the regional phase before the EPO (Euro-PCT)
- Regional pahse entry with the EPO acting as International Search Authority
- Designation of the inventor
- Divisional applications before the EPO
U.S. President Obama signs the AIA into law on 16 September, 2011
The final package of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (H.R.1249, pdf) will enter into force on 16 March 2013 (for a list of amendments and their effective dates, see here). By this date, the most significant amendments of the new Act will enter into force, namely the transformation from the traditional first-to-invent regime to the new first-inventor-to-file regime.
Besides reducing the USPTO’s backlog of approx. 680.000 patent applications and improving patent quality, the main objective of the America Invents Act is to harmonise the US patent system better with international patent law standards and by that facilitate second filings of US applicants in foreign jurisdictions.
This is indeed a brilliant idea, not only for US applicants but also for European applicants and practitioners, as it will align the US system closer with the European patent system. However, event for those legal instruments that are clearly adapted to the European point of view, important differences remain. Some of those tiny differences that may have a huge impacts on practice are outlined below:
On March 16, 2013, the final (third) package of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (H.R.1249, pdf) will enter into force. This will include the transition from the traditional US fist-to-invent system to the first-to-file system as used in the rest of the world. In a recent press release the USPTO announced publication of the
- Examination guidelines for implementing the first inventor to file provisions and the
- Final rules to implement the first inventor to file provisions.
On this blog’s German sister blog ksnh::jur we recently published a series of three postings dedicated to the changes the America Invents Act causes to US patent law. As this piece of US legislation implements one of the most important reforms of internation IP law in recent years, its provisions, legal effects and possibel shortcommings have been extensively – and partly exellently – discussed by so many US blogs that there surely is no need to add another synopsis on a Europe-focussed IP blog like this.
However, as a large portion of our regular readers live and practice in the German-speaking part of Europe, we thought that some of them might appreciated to read about this topic in their mother tongue. The three articles are structured parallel to the three packages of the AIA that enter(ed) into force on 16 Sep 2011 and 16 Sep 2013 and on 16 Mar 2013:
Die Änderungen im US-Patentrecht durch den ‘America Invents Act’
According to Chapter II PCT (International Preliminary Examination) the International Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA) draws up the International Preliminary Examination Report (IPER) which is forwarded to the elected national patent Offices upon national phase entry. Since most national Offices use the IPER as a basis for their substantive examination, it is vital for the applicant that a positive IPER is established.
Based on Rule 66.4 PCT, reading
Additional Opportunity for Submitting Amendments or Arguments:
(a) If the International Preliminary Examining Authority wishes to issue one or more additional written opinions, it may do so, and Rules 66.2 and 66.3 shall apply.
(b) On the request of the applicant, the International Preliminary Examining Authority may give him one or more additional opportunities to submit amendments or arguments.
the EPO now announced an important procedural change for international applications entering Chapter II PCT before the EPO functioning as IPEA (see Notice from the EPO dated 31 August 2011). According to that revised practice, the EPO obtains discretion to issue additional written opinions before establishing the IPER, either on its own initiative or upon applicant’s request. This will give applicants more control and influence and better chances to enter the national phase with a positive IPER.
MISCELLANEOUS
The KSNH blogging landscape
This blog and the German-language sister blog k/s/n/h::jur link to the two popular and privately run blogs IPJur und VisaePatentes and continue their work and mission with a widened scope and under the aegis of our IP law firm.
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