OJ EPO 2009, 595 - Decision of the Administrative Council of 28 October 2009 reducing the fee for the supple- mentary European search where a supplementary international search report was drawn up by the Austrian Patent Office, the National [..]

Full title: OJ EPO 2009, 595 - Decision of the Administrative Council of 28 October 2009 reducing the fee for the supple- mentary European search where a supplementary international search report was drawn up by the Austrian Patent Office, the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the Swedish Patent and Registration Office or the Nordic Patent Institute (CA/D 12/09)

THE ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN PATENT ORGANISATION,

OJ EPO 2009, 598 - Decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 14 October 2009 concerning the information given in the European Patent Register

Further to the decision dated 12 July 2007 concerning the information given in the European Patent Register 1, and having regard to Rule 143(2) EPC, the President of the European Patent Office has decided as follows:

Article 1

The following further entries will be made in the European Patent Register:

1. If the patent's period for opposition expires without an opposition being filed: "No opposition filed"

2. If an error is corrected in the European patent specification: "Patent specification corrected on (date)"

OJ EPO 2009, 601 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 26 October 2009 on the establishment of the date of the Examining Division's first communication for calculation of the time limit under Rule 36(1)(a) EPC as from 1 April 2010

Amended Rule 36 EPC 1 will enter into force on 1 April 2010. In that connection, the EPO has recently received numerous enquiries concerning the search options available after the "Examining Division's first communication".

It will be recalled that the "Examining Division's first communication" referred to in new Rule 36(1)(a) EPC is a communication under Article 94(3) and Rule 71(1), (2) EPC or, where appropri- ate, Rule 71(3) EPC. The notification of this communication in respect of the earliest European patent application

OJ EPO 2009, 603 - Notice from the European Patent Office dated 2 November 2009 concerning the re-introduction of a grace period for the payment of extension fees

With the entry into force of the revised text of the EPC on 13 December 2007, the former Rule 85a EPC 1973 was deleted and, consequently, further processing now applies when designa- tion fees are not paid in due time. The abolition of the "automatic grace period" has also had an impact on implementa- tion by the European Patent Office of the so-called "extension system".

The time limits for payment of extension fees are governed by the national laws of the extension states. The national laws of some former 1 extension states

OJ EPO 2010, 10 - Extension of European patents to Montenegro (ME)

1. On 13 February 2009, the President of the European Patent Office and Montenegro's Minister for Economic Development signed an agreement on the extension of European patents (extension agreement).

2. This agreement enters into force on 1 March 2010. From that date it will be possible to extend to Montenegro the protection conferred by European patent applications and patents. Extended European patent applications and patents will confer essentially the same protection in Montenegro as the patents granted by the EPO for the now 36 member states of the European Patent Organisation.

OJ EPO 2010, 46 - Patent Prosecution Highway pilot programme between the European Patent Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office

I. Background

The Patent Prosecution Highway pilot programme between the European Patent Office (EPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) was launched on 29 Septem- ber 2008 and extended for an additional twelve months from 30 September 2009.

OJ EPO 2010, 57 - Patent Prosecution Highway pilot programme between the European Patent Office and the Japan Patent Office

I. Background

The European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) announced on 13 November 2009 their intention to launch a bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway pilot programme.

The Patent Prosecution Highway will leverage fast-track patent examination procedures already available at both offices to allow applicants to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently. It will also permit each office to exploit the work previously done by the other. In turn the initiative is expected to improve patent quality and reduce the examination workload.

OJ EPO 2010, 69 - Patent Prosecution Highway pilot programme between the Trilateral Offices based on PCT work products

I. Background

The Trilateral Offices announced on 13 November 2009 that they intend to launch a new Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot utilising PCT work products as of 29 January 2010.

II. PCT-PPH pilot programme

The PPH was established to enable an applicant whose claims are determined to be patentable/allowable in the office of first filing (OFF) to have the corres- ponding application filed in the office of second filing (OSF) advanced out of turn for examination while at the same time allowing the OSF to exploit the work results of the OFF.

OJ EPO 2010, 100 - Decision of the Legal Board of Appeal dated 27 May 2009 J 2/08 3.1.01

(Language of the proceedings)

Composition of the board: Chairman: B. Gnzel Members: T. Bokor, S. Hoffmann

Applicant: Sony Deutschland GmbH Headword: Pending application/SONY Relevant legal provisions: Article: 97(3), 112(1), 112(3) EPC Rule: 36(1) EPC Article 7 of the Revision Act of 29 November 2000 Article 2 of the Decision of the Adminis- trative Council of 7 December 2006 Article 8(2) of the Protocol on Recognition 39, paragraph 1, German Patent Law (Patentgesetz, PatG) Art. 500 of the French Civil Procedure (Nouveau Code de Procdure Civile, NCPC)

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