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Understanding the Proposed New European Community Patent
Most inventors new to the patent system express a desire for an international patent ' a monopoly good across the whole world from a single application. While it is unlikely that their desire will ever be satisfied, the prospect of being able to offer a patent throughout Europe in the form of a Community Patent may soon become reality. Such a Community Patent would be effective across all of the soon to be 25 member states of the European Union (EU).
On March 3, 2003, the Council of the European Union (EU Council) reached agreement on certain stumbling blocks, most notably, the structure of courts to try infringement and validity, and the languages to be used. The proposed Community Patent would be governed by a Regulation that is directly applicable in all member states. The Regulation will piggy back on the 1973 Munich Convention, which created the European Patent Organisation, for its substantive patent law. Applicants will apply through the European Patent Office (EPO) as they do today but may designate the European Union as one territory for the application. The EPO will examine the application in any of its existing three languages: English, French and German. Upon grant, the patentee will have to translate only the claims into each and every language used in the EU. Thus, although the Community Patent is purported to reduce the cost of acquiring and enforcing patents in Europe, conceivably the translation of the claims into each of the languages of the EU could become a significant expense. However, it is likely that the timeline for submitting the translations may be as long as two years after the official grant date.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls
With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.