This book provides the first comprehensive study of what cannot be patented and what should not be patentable in Europe.

The book, Visser’s Annotated European Patent Convention, is a commentary on the European Patent Convention and a bestseller in European patent law. The 2021 edition of this preeminent work – the only regularly updated authoritative article-by-article commentary in English on the European Patent Convention (EPC), its implementing regulations, and associated case law provides the complete text of the law annotated with commentary and expert guidance on the interpretation of each paragraph. Since its first edition in 1994 it has provided the European patent community with the necessary insights to practice successfully before the European Patent Office. The EPO recommends the Visser’s Annotated European Patent Convention as the first book in its list of non-EPO/WIPO literature to be used for the preparation of the European qualifying examination. In addition to a thorough updating of developments, new material in the 2021 edition includes the following: Amended EPO Guidelines that entered into force on 01.03.2021 Consolidated discussion of procedures relating to oral proceedings held by video conference Commentary on recent amendments to the implementing regulations Recent decisions of the boards of appeal The 2021 edition is suitable for candidates preparing for the EQE 2022. A free supplemental note will be published providing candidates with an overview of the main legal changes between the 2021 edition and the 31.10.2021 legal cut-off date for the EQE 2022.

This text provides an analysis of European patent law and procedure (including practice under the PCT) and examines the provisions and case-law of the European Patent Convention, the Patent Law Treaty, and Community Patent.

Far more than a revised update, this new edition of a well-received guide to US patent law is twice as valuable to European patent practitioners as the previous edition. It is virtually a brand new book. The author, drawing on her recent years at a US firm, has augmented each chapter with practical information – including lines of argumentation to overcome obviousness rejections – and added new chapters, as well as much more detail on petitions and appeals, post-grant proceedings, and litigation. The new edition tells European practitioners not just about the framework of US patent law, but how it is applied. No other such book exists. With an overview of options at each stage of US patent prosecution and enforcement – with particular emphasis on its differences from the EPO system – the new edition details the available courses of action for all the procedural scenarios a European patent attorney is likely to encounter. The coverage is loaded with practical guidance on such aspects of US patent law and procedure as the following: · drafting applications and filing them at the US Patent Office; · applying provisions of the America Invents Act of 2011; · possible responses to a Final Office Action; · costs, fees, and time periods for various procedural actions; · using the US Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP); · declarations, oaths, and affidavits; · the Quick Path Information Disclosure Statement (QPIDS); · submissions on patentability by third parties; and · supplemental replies during examination proceedings. Every step in the process is described and directly compared as it operates under both the European Patent Convention (EPC) and US patent law. Any practitioner who has unsuccessfully tried to pursue in the US claims that were granted in the EPO will gain a new understanding of the reasons why – and what to do about it. In this highly practical, one-of-a-kind book, European patent professionals will find, detail by detail, exactly what is required at every stage of patent proceedings in the US. There is no other available source of such instantly accessible information for European patent lawyers, in-house counsel and paralegals, or EPC or national patent office officials, to all of whom this book will be of immeasurable value and usefulness. Intellectual property law academics and students will also benefit from the book’s comparative approach.

The focus of this book is on the fifteen-member European Union but its coverage extends to many other bodies which form part of today's Europe, such as the Council of Europe, the European Economic Area and Western European Union.

In our technological society patent law plays a central role as an incentive for the development and marketing of new technologies in many fields of business. The number of patent applications continues to grow considerably every year. International and European conventions and other instruments have been implemented in order to simplify the application for and enforcement of patents and which also govern the scope of protection afforded by a patent in Europe. Others are being planned. This second edition of Concise European Patent Law aims to offer the reader a rapid understanding of all the provisions of patent law in force in Europe that have been enacted at the European and international levels. This volume takes the form of an article-by-article commentary on the European Patent Convention and the relevant European Community legislation and international treaties. It is intended to provide the reader with a short and straightforward explanation of the principles of law to be drawn from each provision, with references to the most important case law. Editors and authors are prominent specialists (both academics and practitioners) in the field of international and European patent law. Concise European Patent Law, second edition is one of a series of volumes of commentary on European Intellectual property legislation edited by Thomas Dreier, Charles Gielen and Richard Hacon, based on the respected German and Dutch series ‘Kurzkommentar and Tekst en Commentaar.’