Patent primer: Oppositions and Appeals at the EPO

Patent Oppositions

In recent years, patent protection has extended into new areas, giving rise to serious concern about the lack of clear guidelines for patentability. We analyze the effect of introducing a patent opposition process that would allow patent validity to be challenged directly after a patent is granted. In many cases, such a system would avoid costly litigation at a later date. In other cases, the o...

Patent Quality Control: A Comparison of U.S. Patent Reexaminations and European Patent Oppositions

We report the results of the first comparative study of the determinants and effects of patent oppositions in Europe and of reexaminations on corresponding patents issued in the United States. The analysis is based on a data set consisting of matched European Patent Office (EPO) and U.S. patents. Our analysis focuses on two broad technology categories—biotechnology and pharmaceuticals and compu...

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences Patent and Trademark Office Statement of the Case

The invention The invention relates to a virtual monitor and method for virtualizing a " non-privileged " computer instruction having at least two types of execution behavior, depending on prior events and on a current privilege level. The invention is described in more detail in the Findings of Fact. The claims Claims 1, 9, and 10 are reproduced below: 1. A method for virtualizing a non-privil...

Exploring the Effects of Patent Oppositions: a Comparative Study of Us and European Patents

When small is beautiful: Measuring the evolution and consequences of the voluminosity of patent applications at the EPO

When Small is Beautiful: Measuring the Evolution and Consequences of the Voluminosity of Patent Applications at the EPO* The joint increase in the number and size of patents filed around the world puts patent systems under pressure. This paper addresses issues in measuring the voluminosity of patent applications and highlights patterns in its evolution. The results based on a 2 million EPO appl...