Until 31 May 2023, German law prohibited double protection (referred to as “prohibition on double protection”) for national patents and European patents. Accordingly, it was not possible to obtain protection under a national patent for an invention in respect of which a European patent with the same priority and the same scope had been granted to the same inventor with effect in the Federal Republic of Germany. The national patent became ineffective if the inventor had been granted a European patent for the same invention that could not be revoked in opposition proceedings any more […]

We are happy to welcome a highly qualified new member to our team. Since the beginning of the year, Philip Weisse has strengthened our team of experts as a patent attorney, bringing in particular further technical expertise as well as deep knowledge in the field of intellectual property. Philip Weisse, a graduate of RWTH Aachen University with a degree in mechanical engineering, can look back on a varied professional career. He gained experience, a.o., in the patent department of an industrial company and worked in

Amended Rules 126(2) and 127(2) EPC introduce a new notification fiction, according to which postal and electronic notification are deemed to occur on the date of the document. As a result, the current notification fiction by which a document is deemed to be delivered to the addressee on the tenth day following its handover to the postal services or on the tenth day following its transmission by means of electronic communication ("ten-day rule") will be abandoned from 1 November 2023. Source: EPO, comm. 31.03.23

From 01 March 2023, the EPO will no longer send faxes in proceedings under the EPC and PCT. From now on, important messages will be sent via the mailbox. However, this does not currently affect the filing of applications and other documents by fax, which will continue to be possible under the conditions laid down by the President of the EPO. Source: EPO, comm. 01.02.23