Lionel Martin

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EPO anticipates unitary patent with start of transitional measures

The European Patent Office ("EPO") has activated these two measures opening up the use of the unitary patent for patent applications ready to be granted, i

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E-filing of French patent applications: French PTO (INPI) shuffle its feet after messing with PLT

August & Debouzy wins its proceedings for exceeding its power (ultra vires) before the Conseil d'Etat against the decision of the Director of the

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August Debouzy franchit un nouveau cap avec la cooptation de 3 associés : Valérie Munoz-Pons, Olivier Attias et Lionel Martin

Le cabinet August Debouzy consolide sa pratique contentieuse et élève au rang d’associés Valérie Munoz-Pons, Olivier Attias et Lionel Martin. Cette annonce témoigne de la volonté de valoriser les profils experts et engagés du cabinet.

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19th version of the UPC Rules of Procedure: the opt-out becomes more complex with the possibility of its removal

After the opt-out and the correction of the opt-out, there is now the addition of... the removal of the opt-out. Abstract: The 19th version of the Rules

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Opposition before the INPI: publication of the first opposition decision

In our article of 2 March 2022, we reported our impressions on the firsts oral proceedings before the INPI[1] and pointed out that they are very similar to

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San-Ei v. Nexira on the abuse of the right to sue for infringement: an isolated case or the beginning of a disturbing case law for right holders?

the abuse of the right to sue for infringement : When it comes to infringement proceedings, it is common for the defendant to counterclaim for abuse of process, and equally common for the defendant to be dismissed. The dismissal of such claims is usually based on the grounds that the plaintiff may be mistaken about the scope of his rights and that the mere bringing of such action is not abusive per se.

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Patent opposition before the INPI: veni, vidi, now being able to tell how it could be

The opposition proceedings before the INPI came into force on 1st April 2020 and is off to a good start, with around twenty oppositions having been filed, mainly by strawmen but also by foreign companies. The oral proceedings started on 25 January 2022, and we attended and participated in the first four. Here we share our first impressions before the oral proceedings resume in mid-March. On the whole, the course of oral proceedings before the INPI is very similar to that of the European Patent Office (EPO) with, nevertheless, a notable singularity: the INPI seems to be more welcoming of late submissions.

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UPC: a forceps birth at the risk of a premature death?

In a recent article we announced the "top start" of the UPC following the announcement on the website of the EU Council of the "entry into force" of the Protocol on the provisional application of the UPC Agreement ("PAP-Protocol"). According to the EU Council, this entry into force would have taken place on 19 January 2022, the day Austria deposited its instrument of ratification of the PAP-Protocol.

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UPC: Top start... yes but how?

Signed in October 2015 by the representatives of the Member States, the PPA allows the institutional, organisational and financial provisions of the UPC Agreement to enter into a provisional application phase.  Its purpose is to allow key decisions to be taken so that the UPC can become fully operational as soon as the UPC Agreement enters into force. The provisional application phase will also be used to allow for early registration of requests to opt out of the UPC's jurisdiction

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Unified Patent Court: For badly born treaties, entry into force await the passing of the years. No review in 2021 of the corresponding German unconstitutional appeals

The German Constitutional Court has just published the list of cases it plans to deal with in 2021.  However, the two recent unconstitutionality appeals following the second German ratification law are not among these cases.  Thus, the finalization of the German ratification process is still pending to the processing of these appeals, after the German Constitutional Court asked the Federal President not to sign the ratification law .