On the two recent decisions of the EBA

Key points

• Recently, decisions G 1/24 (claim interpretation) and G 1/23 (commercially available products as prior art) were issued. 
• Posts simply quoting the headnotes are all over the internet, especially on LinkedIn. I aim to write posts that add value about each of them in the future, once I have had sufficient time to study the decisions and develop my analysis.

10th Anniversary

Key points

• In April 2015, I started with this weblog - fresh out of the EQE and inspired by the inimitable K's Law blog (which stopped in 2014).
• If you are a regular reader, you are part of quite a small group of case law aficionados. Only a few percent of the total number of European patent attorneys reads this blog regularly, is my estimate. I like to think of them as the (upcoming) thought leaders in the field.
• Of course, this blog couldn't exist without a regular supply of interesting decisions from the boards. So I would like to use the opportunity to thank the board members who add a sprinkle of 'bloggable' decisions to the continuous stream of run-of-the-mill decisions (without wishing to diminish in any way the importance of appeal decisions in run-of-the-mill cases for the parties concerned and to keep the EPO and our practices going). 

Unsupervised mode

• This blog will run in unsupervised mode for the next few weeks and only with pre-scheduled posts. 
• The follow.it email notifications will be sent out automatically as well. 
•  Comments can be posted, but it may take some time before I approve them. 

Visser Supplement 2023 and December online update

Key points

• The supplement to Visser's Annotated EPC 2023 for EQE candidates is now available here.
  
  
• The new online updated version is available at Kluwer IP Law (if your organization has a subscription): https://www.kluweriplaw.com/document/TOC_Visser_AEPC 
• I personally spent some time on the discussion of the Vienna Convention in the Preamble chapter here, inspired by J5/23. Of course, we also did all the regular updating.

Message to all EQE candidates

Key points

• To all EQE candidates: I hope you did well if you sat Paper D on Tuesday. Though if you are a regular reader of this weblog, you were probably well prepared.
• Good luck to all candidates sitting the Pre Exam next week. 
• Incidentally, suggestions for improving the Visser book are always welcome. You can reach me at p.delange@vo.eu. 

Scaling down to weekly posts

Key points

• I will post here weekly for the time being, as I have a book to edit in my spare time. 
• Posts are scheduled for Mondays.

Visser online update

Key points

• I'm pleased to announce that the September online update of Visser's Annotated EPC is now available  at Kluwer IP Law -  https://www.kluweriplaw.com/book-toc?title=Visser%27s%20Annotated%20European%20Patent%20Convention%202022%20Edition
• The legal cut-off date is 01.09.2022 

CEIPI basic training course in European patent law (The Hague)

I will give three lectures during the upcoming ’22- ’23 edition of the CEIPI basic training course in European patent law (The Hague): two lectures on inventive step and one lecture on limitation/revocation/conversion. 

The other lectures will be given by a team of eminent teachers including EPO examiners and patent attorneys in private practice.

Interested readers can sign up for the course which will start in November 2022. There are a few places still available.

28 sessions

at the EPO premises in Rijswijk (if possible)

Nov. 2022 - Nov. 2023

Tuesdays from 16:00 to 19:00

€ 1500 excl. VAT

Information and enrolment:

Mr. Huub Maas, h.maas@vo.eu

PDF brochure: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EuAHNxcIE6Kqdi2JnV617AJfacFqAYc4/view?usp=sharing 

Visser's Annotated EPC 2022

The new edition of Visser's Annotated EPC just arrived!

You can buy the book here:

https://law-store.wolterskluwer.com/s/product/annotated-european-patent-convention-2022-edition/01t4R00000OkKfl

In addition to a thorough updating of developments, new material in the 2022 edition includes the following:

• Amended EPO Guidelines that entered into force on 01.03.2022
• Consolidated discussion of procedures relating to oral proceedings held by videoconference 
• Commentary on recent amendments to the Implementing Regulations
• Recent decisions of the boards of appeal

The 2022 edition is suitable for candidates preparing for the EQE 2023 (pre-examination and main examination); a PDF supplement with an overview of any major legal changes between 01.03.2022 and 31.10.2022 will be made available via https://law-store.wolterskluwer.com/s/product/annotated-european-patent-convention-2022-edition/01t4R00000OkKfl at the end of 2022.

Please disregard the earlier post about T 2558/18

Dear readers and followers of this weblog,

Please disregard the follow.it email notification of 14 November and first version of the post "T 2558/18 - The Board invokes Art. 164(2) EPC". It was an unfished draft prematurely published by mistake. I've immediately deleted the post when noticing that it was published. However, I can't undo the emails that were sent out by follow.it.

In fact, I had decided to first obtain an English translation of the decision before writing more comments about it, let alone publish the blog post I was working on (moreover, I wish to study if G 7/93 is perhaps relevant for the matter). I deeply regret that I published the post by mistake. 

The unusual formatting and the out-of-turn publication on Satdurday 13 November with email notification also out of turn on Sunday 14 November should confirm that the draft was prematurely published.

I apologize for the mistake and ask for your understanding and cooperation. I've already taken measures to better prevent such a mistake in the future.

Peter

Visser's Annotated EPC 2021 book

 I'm glad to announce that the new 2021 edition of Visser's Annotated EPC is being shipped.

You can order your copy at:

https://lrus.wolterskluwer.com/store/product/visser-s-annotated-european-patent-convention-2021-edition/

Visser's Annotated EPC 2021 Edition online

 

Visser's Annotated European Patent Convention 2021 Edition is now available online at:

https://www.kluweriplaw.com/book-toc?title=Visser%27s%20Annotated%20European%20Patent%20Convention%202021%20Edition 

Summertime reading - The modern problem-solution approach

• My article "The modern problem-solution approach" was published in epi Information 2/2021. 
• It's the article I basically wanted to write since qualifying as a European patent attorney in 2015. I hope readers find it a useful addition to the literature. I give a step-by-step description of the PSA as it is frequently applied in daily practice (with 13 small steps instead of the 3 large steps mentioned in the Guidelines). Somewhat surprisingly this practical form of the PSA can be found nowhere in the legal handbooks (e.g. Visser, Singer/Stauder, Benkard EPU), the Guidelines and the Case Law book tough step-by-step instructions for the PSA can be found in the EQE course books. 
• I personally find the Guidelines chapter about inventive step quite confusing, but that is something for another article or blogpost.
• The advantage of publishing in epi Information is that it is open access on the internet while at the same time having a carefully maintained archive and stable website ensuring long term availability.

Migration to follow.it

• I've migrated the email subscription to follow.it after upgrading my folllow.it to the 'premium plan' (to remove the ads).
• If you want to continue receiving email updates, please confirm your subscription with the link at the top of the email (see also the image below)
  
  
  
  
• Other subscription options (e.g. RSS) can be found here: https://justpatentlaw.blogspot.com/p/receive-updates.html
• More posts e.g. about G 4/19 (double patenting), J 14/19 (stay of proceedings) and T 0096/20 (clinical trial document as prior art) are lined up for the next few weeks.