This LL.M thesis is a response to the recent decisions of the German Federal Court of Justice on the patentability requirements of selection inventions, namely the Olanzapine and Escitalopram decisions. The thesis provides an overview on the technology and patenting practice, followed by the discussion of jurisprudence on the patentability requirements for selection inventions in major jurisdictions. In particular, the paper examines the novelty and the non-obviousness requirements. As the discussion on the anticipation and obviousness is more contentious in selection inventions, it discusses the issues in view of the two decisions. Post-grant impact of selection inventions and their meanings to the system of patent are explored and some comparative perspectives on selection inventions are discussed. In conclusion, by exploring the significance of granting patents on selection invention to the working of patent system, the paper provides a useful analysis in understanding patentability requirements thereof, beyond the pharmaceutical industry sector. LL.M Thesis. (Series: Munich Intellectual Property Law Center - MIPLC - Vol. 12)
This Guide aims to assist users in searching for technology information using patent documents, a rich source of technical, legal and business information presented in a generally standardized format and often not reproduced anywhere else. Though the Guide focuses on patent information, many of the search techniques described here can also be applied in searching other non-patent sources of technology information.
"Inventions and Patents" is the first of WIPO's Learn from the past, create the future series of publications aimed at young students. This series was launched in recognition of the importance of children and young adults as the creators of our future.
The U.S. patent system is in an accelerating race with human ingenuity and investments in innovation. In many respects the system has responded with admirable flexibility, but the strain of continual technological change and the greater importance ascribed to patents in a knowledge economy are exposing weaknesses including questionable patent quality, rising transaction costs, impediments to the dissemination of information through patents, and international inconsistencies. A panel including a mix of legal expertise, economists, technologists, and university and corporate officials recommends significant changes in the way the patent system operates. A Patent System for the 21st Century urges creation of a mechanism for post-grant challenges to newly issued patents, reinvigoration of the non-obviousness standard to quality for a patent, strengthening of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, simplified and less costly litigation, harmonization of the U.S., European, and Japanese examination process, and protection of some research from patent infringement liability.
This book provides an overview of developments in personalized medicine patenting and explores its normative implications to suggest policies to best regulate it.
In recent years, business leaders, policymakers, and inventors have complained to the media and to Congress that today's patent system stifles innovation instead of fostering it. But like the infamous patent on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, much of the cited evidence about the patent system is pure anecdote--making realistic policy formation difficult. Is the patent system fundamentally broken, or can it be fixed with a few modest reforms? Moving beyond rhetoric, Patent Failure provides the first authoritative and comprehensive look at the economic performance of patents in forty years. James Bessen and Michael Meurer ask whether patents work well as property rights, and, if not, what institutional and legal reforms are necessary to make the patent system more effective. Patent Failure presents a wide range of empirical evidence from history, law, and economics. The book's findings are stark and conclusive. While patents do provide incentives to invest in research, development, and commercialization, for most businesses today, patents fail to provide predictable property rights. Instead, they produce costly disputes and excessive litigation that outweigh positive incentives. Only in some sectors, such as the pharmaceutical industry, do patents act as advertised, with their benefits outweighing the related costs. By showing how the patent system has fallen short in providing predictable legal boundaries, Patent Failure serves as a call for change in institutions and laws. There are no simple solutions, but Bessen and Meurer's reform proposals need to be heard. The health and competitiveness of the nation's economy depend on it.
Antibodies have revolutionized medicine and biotechnology, and have become indispensable tools in therapy, diagnostics, analytics, and research. Therapeutic antibodies, for example, have come to dominate the ranks of blockbuster drugs, currently accounting for 10 out of the top 15 best-selling medicines. At the same time, a body of case law dealing specifically with the patentability of antibody-related inventions and the enforcement of antibody patents has emerged in major jurisdictions. The, at times, significant divergences between different jurisdictions have been compounded by recent decisions in the United States, most notably Amgen v. Sanofi, 872 F.3d 1367 (Fed. Cir. 2017), which have severely curtailed the possibilities to obtain broad antibody patents. It is therefore essential to understand how antibody inventions are assessed in different jurisdictions in order to secure an optimal patent protection and to successfully enforce such patents. This book provides practitioners with a comprehensive resource elucidating all aspects of the patenting of antibodies from initial drafting and prosecution to enforcement, using a country-by-country format. It covers 23 of the most important IP jurisdictions worldwide – i.e., the European Patent Office, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United States of America, Argentina, the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru), Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Australia. The 35 contributors to this book, all distinguished experts in this field, provide clear and practice-oriented advice on a range of topics including: – Which types of antibody inventions are patent-eligible? – Which types of functional and structural features are accepted for claiming antibodies? – What needs to be considered when defining antibodies in terms of their antigen, target affinity, binding specificity, epitope, competitive binding and other characteristics in relation to reference antibodies, as well as their effects on the target? – Which pitfalls must be avoided when defining amino acid sequences, chemical modifications or glycosylation patterns, and when relying on cell line deposits? – Which breadth of claims is accepted for antibody inventions, and what experimental support is required? – Which specific medical applications of antibodies can be claimed? – How is inventive step assessed in the specific case of antibody inventions? – What has to be considered when enforcing antibody patents, including in relation to biosimilars as well as the doctrine of equivalence? All chapters follow the same structure, which makes this book easily accessible and allows a direct comparison between different jurisdictions. Practitioners will find the much-needed tools and guidance to secure the best possible patent protection for antibody inventions in 23 of the most important jurisdictions worldwide. This book is the fifth volume in the AIPPI Law Series which has been established together with the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), a non-affiliated, non-profit organization dedicated to improving and promoting the protection of intellectual property at both national and international levels.
This volume assembles papers commissioned by the National Research Council's Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) to inform judgments about the significant institutional and policy changes in the patent system made over the past two decades. The chapters fall into three areas. The first four chapters consider the determinants and effects of changes in patent "quality." Quality refers to whether patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) meet the statutory standards of patentability, including novelty, nonobviousness, and utility. The fifth and sixth chapters consider the growth in patent litigation, which may itself be a function of changes in the quality of contested patents. The final three chapters explore controversies associated with the extension of patents into new domains of technology, including biomedicine, software, and business methods.
The present Guide is a detailed technical paper aimed at industrial property office examiners and users in general to assist them in identifying the correct database and using the possible functionalities and tools offered by specific databases. The current Guide examines a selection of commercial and non-commercial database services considered representative of the broader population of existing services in order to illustrate types and combinations of features available through these services.
