Preface --Authors --About the Editors --Introduction --European Patent Convention 2000 (EPC 2000) --Implementing Regulations to European Patent Convention 2000 --Protocol on the Centralisation of the European Patent System and on its Introduction --Protocol on Jurisdiction and the Recognition of Decisions in respect of the Right to the Grant of a European Patent --Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the European Patent Organisation --Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1768/92 --Regulation (EC) No. 1610/96 --Directive 98/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (Biotech Directive) --Patent Cooperation Treaty --Patent Law Treaty --List of references.

In our technological society patent law plays a central role as an incentive for the development and marketing of new technologies in many fields of business. The number of patent applications continues to grow considerably every year. International and European conventions and other instruments have been implemented in order to simplify the application for and enforcement of patents and which also govern the scope of protection afforded by a patent in Europe. Others are being planned. This second edition of Concise European Patent Law aims to offer the reader a rapid understanding of all the provisions of patent law in force in Europe that have been enacted at the European and international levels. This volume takes the form of an article-by-article commentary on the European Patent Convention and the relevant European Community legislation and international treaties. It is intended to provide the reader with a short and straightforward explanation of the principles of law to be drawn from each provision, with references to the most important case law. Editors and authors are prominent specialists (both academics and practitioners) in the field of international and European patent law. Concise European Patent Law, second edition is one of a series of volumes of commentary on European Intellectual property legislation edited by Thomas Dreier, Charles Gielen and Richard Hacon, based on the respected German and Dutch series ‘Kurzkommentar and Tekst en Commentaar.’

This text provides an analysis of European patent law and procedure (including practice under the PCT) and examines the provisions and case-law of the European Patent Convention, the Patent Law Treaty, and Community Patent.

The second edition of this popular textbook has been thoroughly revised, expanded and updated in order to reflect the recent extensive changes in European IP legislation. Providing an in-depth examination of the core areas of IP law, from copyright, patents and trademarks through to the protection of plant varieties and industrial design, it is perfectly pitched to guide the reader through the complexities of the European IP system.

European Intellectual Property Law offers a full account of the main areas of substantive European intellectual property law - including the law of copyright and related rights, patents and plant variety rights, trademarks, design rights, and rights in data and information.

Germany’s patent system presents unique opportunities for patent holders, as well as risks for companies doing business there. Germany is one of the world’s top jurisdictions for patent enforcement because of the expertise of German courts, their unique procedures, and the speed of these proceedings. Winning a patent suit in Germany is tantamount to winning the European market, and gives the patent owner substantial leverage over opponents to achieve a worldwide settlement. In addition, suits in Germany frequently resolve well ahead of United States counterpart suits, at a fraction of the cost. This handbook, now in its second, fully updated edition, provides international lawyers with a practical understanding of Germany’s patent system, including the many legal changes that have occurred since the book’s original publication in 2011. It also addresses the implications of the upcoming Unified Patent Court. This second edition provides an in-depth, step-by-step procedural analysis of aspects of current patent practice in Germany, including the following: • Germany’s split system that bifurcates infringement from validity cases; • Obtaining discovery; • Claim construction; • Budgeting; • Implications of the upcoming new patent system, in particular the Unified Patent Court; • Germany’s labor law regarding employee inventions; and • Customs actions. The authors — both experienced patent lawyers, one German, one American — present proceedings in Germany in parallel with corresponding patent litigation stages in the United States. The chapters track the structure of patent disputes, starting with the overall structure of the German judicial system, followed by topics such as patentability, patent procurement, oppositions, infringement trials and customs enforcement actions. This book concludes with an extensive selection of forms and legislative material. Understanding the opportunities available in Germany provides companies with a broader toolkit for enforcing their intellectual property rights and defending against challenges brought by others. Practicing patent lawyers will not find a more complete, informed and practical guide than this book explaining the framework for patent procurement, enforcement and defense in Germany. Many will find surprising options without parallel in the United States.

Concise European Copyright Law aims to offer the reader a rapid understanding of all the provisions of copyright law in force in Europe that have been enacted at the European and international levels. This volume takes the form of an article-by-article commentary on the relevant European directives and international treaties in the field of copyright and neighbouring rights. It is intended to provide the reader with a short and straightforward explanation of the principles of law to be drawn from each provision. Editors and authors are prominent specialists (academics and practitioners) in the field of international and European copyright law. Concise European Copyright Law is part of 'Concise IP', a series of five volumes of commentary on European intellectual property legislation. The five volumes cover: Patents and related matters, Trademarks and designs, Copyrights and neighbouring rights, IT and a general volume including jurisdictional issues.

The two EU instruments that govern design law – the Community Design Regulation (CDR) of 2001 and the Design Directive of 1998 – are expertly annotated in this thorough article-by-article commentary. Written by distinguished practitioners from a range of European countries, the volume builds on the two editions of the design-related portions of the much-relied-upon Concise European Trade Mark and Design Law, with corresponding case law through the end of 2022. It is the best first-stop guide to practice in the field. The commentary provides detailed guidance, taking into account the case law of the EUIPO and its Boards of Appeal and of the General Court and the Court of Justice, on the practical application of such crucial building blocks of design law practice as the following: all issues of substantive design law, from definitions to novelty and individual character, ownership of design rights, limits of protection, to scope of protection and rights conferred; all proceedings before the EUIPO, from filing design applications to registration, actions for declaration of invalidity, and all provisions governing review of EUIPO decisions, by the EUIPO Boards of Appeal, by the EU’s General Court, and by the Court of Justice; and actions for the infringement of Community designs, with a focus on jurisdiction and applicable law. The book also contains a unique collection of EU and international legislation of relevance for design protection, found in no other reference book, including the Community Design Implementing and Fee Regulations, the Enforcement of IP Rights Directive, excerpts from the Rules of Procedure of the General Court, and relevant provisions from applicable international treaties, such as the TRIPS Agreement, the Paris Convention, the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement, and the Locarno Agreement. This concise book on designs is a handy desktop companion and single reference tool for daily use by every practitioner in the EU and elsewhere who practises design law. It will be welcomed by IP lawyers, in-house counsel, and government officials involved with design policy and procedure.

Although the pivotal role of the inventiveness requirement in patent law is broadly accepted, it has long remained an ill-defined concept, and in current debates the question is often raised whether the requirement is capable of functioning as an adequate ‘gate-keeper’. By providing a broad and historical perspective on the inventiveness concept in patent law, this groundbreaking work lays a very thorough conceptual basis for further and more in-depth discussions on current standards of inventiveness. In a method guided by geography and chronology, the author weaves developments in numerous countries – focusing primarily on the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands – into a fullscale analysis of the inventiveness concept. Among the questions raised and examined are the following: - How do industrial–economic considerations influence the requirement? - Are there different doctrinal ‘schools of thought’ that can be distinguished? - Should the current requirement stay in close relationship with its predecessors or is it fundamentally different? - Which socio-economic and political forces have influenced or diverted the evolution of the requirement? - What are the most conspicuous similarities and dissimilarities among the jurisdictions under examination? And how can they be explained? - To what extent is the ‘inventive step’ requirement applied in a uniform manner within the European Patent Convention area? - To what extent has the enormous recent growth of patent grants been brought about by relaxation of the inventiveness requirement? This book provides crucially important fundamental commentary for lawyers, jurists, and scholars coming to grips with a hugely complex legal phenomenon: the dramatic growth worldwide in recent years of patents as instruments for the protection of industrial property. Particularly welcome in these times of intensifying scrutiny of patent law, this incomparable analysis will quickly become a cornerstone resource for intellectual property lawyers, patent officers, in-house counsel in multinational manufacturing companies, and other interested practitioners.

? The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG This splendid book performs the heroic task of introducing readers to the large canvas of the commercial law of the European Union (EU). The EU began as an economic community of six nations but has grown into 27 member states, sharing a signi?cant political, social and legal cohesion and serving almost 500 million citizens. It generates approximately 30% of the nominal gross world product. The EU is a remarkable achievement of trans-national co-operation, given the history (including recent history) of national, racial, ethnic and religious hatred and con?ict preceding its creation. Although, as the book recounts, the institutions of the EU grew directly out of those of the European Economic Community, created in 1957 [1.20], the genesis of the EU can be traced to the sufferings of the Second World War and to the disclosure of the barbarous atrocities of the Holocaust. Out of the chaos and ruins of historical enmities and the shattered cities and peoples that survived those terrible events, arose an astonishing pan- European Movement.