As a general rule, mathematical methods are excluded from patentability, although practical applications involving mathematics may still be patentable (advances in cryptography, for example). However, mathematical terms themselves aren’t excluded and some of...
As mentioned in my previous article, one of the most productive uses of resources when opposing a European patent which has been granted is to conduct a thorough prior art search. Prior art is not, however, limited to prior patent applications. It’s worth considering...
What do you do when you are up against a competitor’s European patent, and you have minimal time to oppose or revoke the patent in order to operate freely? You know the story – you’ve geared up for an all-important product launch, and take one last look at the patent...
This brief case study provides an overview of strategies for winning an opposition submitted against a European Patent. The statistics for opposition of a European patent before the European Patent Office (EPO) suggest that the process can be considered...
As IP attorneys we have certainly seen a large increase in AI inventions over the past few years. It comes as no surprise then, that the UK Government wants to develop intellectual property law and policy to ensure that AI technology is supported and protected...
The general rule is ‘file your patent first, then disclose’. Some countries, eg. USA, do allow disclosure first and then filing within 12 months. But most countries do not, and thus a non-confidential prior disclosure will ‘knock out’ your patent.