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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 .

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OP in VICO for OPPO: GO! The agreement of the parties will no longer be required to close the opposition to a European patent by a videoconference hearing.

The recent decision of November 10, 2020 of the President of the European Patent Office (EPO), takes into account the health constraints imposed by the coronavirus over time, at the moment of the rise of its second European wave. In practical terms, this decision implies that for any oral proceedings in opposition scheduled from January 4, 2020 to September 15, 2021, it will be conducted by videoconference without seeking the agreement of the parties. This decision thus systematizes the holding of oral proceedings in opposition by videoconference.

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The Opposition before the French Patent Office

Today is the day of the “launch” of the opposition procedure before the French Patent Office (“Institut National de la Propriété Intellectuelle” or “INPI”). This procedure is a new way to challenge the validity of a French patent, alongside the claim for invalidity.

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Publication of Decree No. 2020-225 of March 6, 2020 on the opposition procedure for French patents and setting of the opposition fee

The decree n°2020-225, taken for the application of the ordinance n°2020-116 which creates a right of opposition to French patents, was published in the Official Journal on March 6, 2020.

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Publication of Ordinance No. 2020-116 of 12 February 2020 creating a right of opposition to French patents

On 13 February 2020, Order No. 2020-116 was published in the Official Journal. It creates a right of opposition to the French patents before the INPI. The content of this ordinance is summarized in the report to the President of the Republic published the same day.

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Publication of Decree No. 2020-15: a risky simplification of patent proceedings.

Following the adoption of the PACTE law of May 22, 2019[1], the decree No. 2020-15 dated from January 8, 2020 and "relating to the creation of a provisional patent application and the transformation of a utility certificate application into a patent application", was published in the Official Journal on January 10, 2020.

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The new Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal

The clear aim of the new procedure before the Boards of Appeal is not to assess whether the patent or patent application fulfils the patentability requirements by taking into account each relevant element, but to assess the merit, in facts and in law, of the first instance decision (rendered by an opposition or examination division). It also aims to increase the Boards of Appeal’s efficiency. To this end, the introduction of new means (including new arguments) into the procedure is made explicitly more complicated from the appeal filing, with criteria applied more and more strictly as the appeal procedure progresses. The case will be won in first instance.

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Implementation of opposition proceedings against a French patent: Get ready now!

The PACTE law of May 22nd [1] introduced new opposition proceedings against French patents before the French PTO. A draft amendment to the Intellectual Property Code (hereinafter referred to as "IPC") is currently under consideration in order to specify the modalities of proceedings (deadlines, costs, remedies, etc.). This draft is submitted for consultation to representatives of companies, industrial property professionals and courts from Friday, November 22 to Friday, December 13, 2019 [2].

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One IP standard to rule them all

​One standard to rule them all? The new French standard NF X50-276-2 is the first proposal of format for electronic communications of PI data between the different actors including the offices. The standard NF X50-276-2, and its explanatory note NF X50-276-1 were published at the beginning of February 2018. They aim at promoting exchanges between IP stakeholders: applicants, national offices, representatives, PI departments in companies, but also other players in the field (e.g. IP renewals provider). Accordingly, it proposes recommendations that allow the exchange of data thanks to coded flows having common structures.

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August & Debouzy advises Starbreeze AB during its acquisition of the company Epawn

August & Debouzy advised Starbreeze AB, a Swedish company listed in Stockholm, which creates, edits and distributes video games and entertainment products,