The Preparatory Committee of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) has published a roadmap according to which, based on current state of the implementation thereof, the UPC could start receiving cases on April 1, 2023. As from that date, provided the roadmap plan is respected, a new patent litigation system will be available in Europe, and only “opted out” European patent applications/patents will be preserved from revocation by the UPC. However, requests for unitary patent protection will be available even earlier. READ MORE

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As clients begin to develop global patent portfolios, an effective practitioner will be aware of basic information related to application filing and pendency in locales where protection is sought. This article provides a high-level look at application pendency, grant rates, and effects of lapse in select countries in Gulf States. READ MORE

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently revised a previously issued opinion to delete all references to the notion that the particular choices and actions of patent examiners are owed some degree of deference in district court litigation on the issue of patent validity. Does this signal a general retreat from the concept of examiner deference? READ MORE

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As clients and legal counsel begin to develop global patent portfolios, one topic comes up annually: working requirements. A working requirement is a provision of a national patent statute that states an owner of a patent must practice the patented invention within the country that granted the patent. To satisfy the requirement, a patent owner may need to build new manufacturing capacity in the country, utilize existing capacity in the country, or license the patented invention to a third-party for manufacturing the patented invention, or perform the patented process, locally. Consequences for not working a patented invention in contravention of local statutes may include monetary sanctions, as well as potential for loss of patent rights or compulsory licenses to third parties. READ MORE

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Osha Bergman Watanabe & Burton was a sponsor of AIPLA's 2022 Annual Meeting. Three OBWB delegates attended the conference in Washington, D.C.; it was great to see so many colleagues in person at this event. 

Pictured left to right: 1.Ikuya Kameyama, Ph.D., and Jonathan Osha. 2. Yuichi Watanabe and Jonathan Osha. 3. An event session in progress. 4. Closing night gala dinner, Yuichi Watanabe and colleagues.