Katherine Ellis - WP IP

Validation of European Patents in Laos

Monday, 31 March 2025

Katherine Ellis

Patents

The European Patent Office has announced that the validation agreement with Laos signed in May 2024 will enter into force on 1 April 2025. From this date, it will be possible to obtain protection in 46 countries by means of a single European patent: - The 39 Member States - The single remaining Extension State (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - ...

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European Patent Office EPO European Patent validation Laos

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European Patent Office Launches New Fee Reduction Scheme to Support Micro-Entities

Monday, 05 February 2024

Katherine Ellis

Patents

In good news for individuals and smaller businesses with little experience of the European patent system, the European Patent Office will shortly be introducing additional discounts on some of its fees for certain applicants. However, there are strict and complex requirements on eligibility and caution should be used in deciding whether or not...

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European Patent Office EPO EPO Fees Fee Reduction Micro entity

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Validation of European Patents in Georgia

Thursday, 04 January 2024

Katherine Ellis

Patents

On 15 January 2024, the Republic of Georgia will become the 45th country in which patent protection may be obtained via a European patent. The "validation" agreement between Georgia and the European Patent Organisation was signed on 31 October 2019, and will come into force this month. The European Patent Organisation currently has 39 Member States...

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Georgia European patent European Patent Organisation validation

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Right to priority in European Patent Applications - EPO decides there is a rebuttable presumption of validity

Friday, 20 October 2023

Katherine Ellis

Patents

The Enlarged Board of Appeal at the European Patent Office (EPO) has now issued its written decision in consolidated cases G1/22 and G2/22. The Enlarged Board of Appeal concludes that the EPO is competent to assess priority entitlement and that there is a rebuttable presumption that an applicant claiming priority in accordance with the formal requi...

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EPO G1/22 G2/22 priority validity

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Goodbye to the "Ten Day Rule" at the EPO

Monday, 16 October 2023

Katherine Ellis

Patents

The EPO's idiosyncratic "ten day rule" relevant to calculating notified deadlines is being abolished in November. Many a European patent attorney has been thankful for the EPO's ten day rule after receipt of very late instructions to proceed with filing a response. This peculiarity of EPO practice has its origin in the days of postal ...

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Practical Tips for Patenting Antibodies in Europe

Wednesday, 08 March 2023

Katherine Ellis

Patents

The patenting of proteins is well established in Europe as long as they meet the requirements of novelty and inventive step.Antibodies are a specific type of protein, and to obtain useful patent protection for these, there are specific requirements to take into consideration.We have previously written about the European Patent Office's Guidelines f...

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European Patent Office patent antibodies Guidelines EPO

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Developing Drugs for Developing World Diseases: The Role of Patents

Sunday, 05 March 2023

Katherine Ellis

Patents

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the issue of patents for medicines (in particular vaccines in the case of Covid) to the fore.From the debate surrounding enhancing distribution of Covid vaccines in the developing world by implementing a patent waiver, it is clear that the oft-heard argument that intellectual property to protect such vital products...

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patents Intellectual Property IP Neglected Diseases

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Williams Powell wins MIP award of European Cross-Border Patent Litigation Team

Thursday, 16 June 2022

Katherine Ellis

Patents AI

Managing-IP-Award

We are delighted to announce that Williams Powell was presented with the special award of European Cross-Border Patent Litigation Team of the Year for the Stephen Thaler v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (DABUS) case at the prestigious Managing IP Awards on 15 June 2022. Williams Powell was recognised for the work of Robert ...

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patent litigation DABUS MIP Award

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Sequence Listings Looking Towards the "Big Bang"

Wednesday, 01 June 2022

Katherine Ellis

Patents

The beginning of July sees a shake up in how sequence listings are to be presented in patent applications around the world. After almost 25 years, WIPO has updated its standard from ST.25 to ST.26, and relevant patent applications at the International Bureau and in all WIPO contracting states (including both the EPO and the UK IPO) will need to inc...

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patents patent applications biotech sequence listings bigbang

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UK Patent Attorneys able to represent clients before the European Unified Patent Court

Thursday, 24 March 2022

Katherine Ellis

Patents

It has been confirmed that European patent attorneys having a relevant UK qualification will be able to represent clients directly before the Unified Patent Court. All of Williams Powell's patent attorneys have the relevant qualifications and will therefore be entered on the list of representatives. As previously reported, the new UPC system i...

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Unified Patent Court patent UPC litigation Unitary Patent

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European Unitary Patent in 2022?

Wednesday, 19 January 2022

Katherine Ellis

Patents

As the European Patent Office announces transitional provisions ready for entry into force of the UPC Agreement, it is starting to look like we may have the first European Unitary Patent within the next year or so. While there will of course be competition to see who manages to get the first Unitary Patent, there are also serious strategi...

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European Patent Office Unitary Patent transitional provisions UPC Agreement European Unitary Patent

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Plausibility - EPO stays proceedings in view of Enlarged Board Referral

Thursday, 02 December 2021

Katherine Ellis

Patents

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The European Patent Office has announced a stay of all examination/opposition proceedings involving applications/patents in which the assessment of inventive step is exclusively based on evidence that was not publicly available before the filing date, and in which the decision depends entirely on the outcome of Referral G2/21 (Plausibility), u...

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European Patent Office EPO plausability patents inventive step

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A Unified Patent Court for Europe - Coming Soon?

Monday, 25 October 2021

Katherine Ellis

Patents

Europe may soon have its Unified Patent Court and Williams Powell is ready to assist you. With attorneys qualified for the European Patent Litigation Certificate (which gives UPC rights of representation) and as a Patent Attorney Advocate & Litigator (which gives rights of representation in the UK Courts) we are well-placed not only to obtain I...

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Unified Patent Court patent UPC litigation Unitary Patent

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Patent Sufficiency reconsidered by UK Court of Appeal

Monday, 27 September 2021

Katherine Ellis

Patents

This Court of Appeal Decision concerned two families of patents held by FibroGen:Family A and Family B relating to H1F-PH inhibitors for the treatment of (respectively) CKD anaemia (anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease) and ACD (anaemia of chronic disease).Family A was published before the relevant priority date of Family B, and so i...

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sufficiency Plausibility Undue Burden Insufficiency Enablement

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Illumina – Shining a light on DNA Sequencing Technology

Wednesday, 05 May 2021

Katherine Ellis

Patents

In this English High Court case relating to the infringement and validity of five patents held by Illumina, Mr Justice Birss decided upon several hot topics in the biotech patenting world. We summarise some of the most interesting points here. The Technology Briefly, the patents related to DNA sequencing technology.More specifically, three of ...

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Illumina Skilled Addressee Doctrine of Equivalents Collocation Regeneron Insufficiency

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Claiming Antibodies in European Patent Applications

Tuesday, 16 March 2021

Katherine Ellis

Patents

In the past year, we have all heard more about antibodies in the general news than anyone ever desired. When we are exposed to pathogens, antibodies form a vital part of our immune systems in protecting us from deadly diseases.Isolated from the body or synthetically produced, antibodies can have many uses and are particularly important as therapeut...

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European Patent Office patent antibodies Guidelines EPO

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Defining Amino Acid and Nucleic Acid Sequences in European Patent Applications

Tuesday, 09 March 2021

Katherine Ellis

Patents

Welcome guidance on the interpretation of claims to amino acids and nucleic acids defined by their sequences is provided by updated Guidelines for Examination at the European Patent Office now in force. New section F-IV-4.24 sets out that both amino acid sequences and nucleic acid sequences can be defined by "percentage identity". The percenta...

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European Patent Office percentage identity nucleic acid sequences amino acid sequences F-IV-4.24

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European Patent Office pushes use of video conferences in Opposition Division oral proceedings

Thursday, 12 November 2020

Katherine Ellis

Patents

As of January 2021, parties will no longer have free choice on whether a hearing (oral proceedings) during examination or opposition is in person or via video conferencing before the European Patent Office (EPO). Video conferences will be the default. 12 months ago, we would have had to fight for a hearing (oral proceedings) to be held with t...

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European Patent Office hearing video conferencing oral proceedings

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Supplementary Protection Certificates: Only for First Use of an Authorised Product

Tuesday, 22 September 2020

Katherine Ellis

Patents

A Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) can provide up to five years additional protection for a patented active ingredient of a pharmaceutical product that has received a marketing authorisation. The objective is to compensate a patent holder for the delay in being able to use the patent by the need to obtain the marketing authorisation. An S...

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Supplementary Protection Certificate SPC ingredient product marketing authorisation

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UK IPO Calls for Views on Patents for AI Inventions

Thursday, 17 September 2020

Katherine Ellis

Patents AI

We have previously written about our involvement in filing and prosecuting patent applications for two inventions created by the AI inventor DABUS, and naming DABUS (the true deviser of the inventions) as the inventor.The UK IPO found the inventions to be both novel and inventive, and therefore, in principle, protectable by patent. ...

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