James Ellsmore

On Wednesday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down a decision that will make it more difficult to establish that a patent is unenforceable because of the inequitable conduct of the patentee. 

The European Court of Justice (the Court) issued an opinion recently thwarting the European Commission’s plans to introduce a unified patent litigation system. 

In a recent decision (Monsanto Technology LLC v Cefetra BV and Others), the Court of Justice of the European Union declared that patent protection for gene patents will only extend to gene sequences which are performing the specific function for which they were patented. 

The European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition has recently released its First Report on the Monitoring of Patent Settlement Agreements (the “Report”). 

The General Court of the European Union has confirmed the decision of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition to fine AstraZeneca under EU competition law for using its dominant position to delay the market entry of generic versions of its blockbuster drug Losec (omeprazole), which is used in the treatment of reflux disease.

The Commonwealth Government has recently amended the Patents Regulations to increase the fees IP Australia charges for its services in relation to patent filings and related proceedings.