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Upcoming Changes to European Patent Examination Procedures
Recently, the European Patent Office (“EPO”) announced changes to the rules of the European Patent Convention (“EPC” ) as part of the EPO's initiative to speed up patent examination. The new EPC rules, which will be effective on April 1, 2010, will drastically restrict how a patent applicant is able to file divisional patent applications and will increase the patent applicant's obligations to provide information to the EPO during patent examination.
More specifically, these rule changes implement: 1) time limits for filing divisional European patent applications; 2) compulsory responses to European search reports and written opinions of the EPO acting as the International Searching Authority (“ISA”) in European patent applications; 3) a requirement that the basis in the original text of a European patent application be provided for all amendments; 4) restrictions on a patent applicant's right to make voluntary amendments; 5) a requirement, for European patent applications containing more than one independent claim in the same category, that patent applicants identify which claims are to be searched; and 6) a requirement, for claims the EPO considers too broad or unclear on which to carry out a meaningful search, that the patent applicant indicate which subject matter should be searched.
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.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
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?
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.