On 17 December 2012, following a complex negotiation which lasted 12 years, the European Parliament adopted Regulations (EU) 1257/2012 and 1260/2012 and the text of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC Agreement). These instruments institute the 'European patent with unitary effect', the first unified system for the protection of inventions within the European Union. The two Regulations will be applicable after the entry into force of the UPC Agreement, which was signed on 19 February 2013 by 24 Member States of the European Union. This book traces the evolution of the idea behind the institution of the European patent with unitary effect, including a comparative analysis of the existing parallel regional and international procedures for the protection of inventions. It presents a synthesis of the different phases of the negotiations which led to the adoption of the first unitary patent system within the European Union. In addition it examines the provisions of the two Regulations, of the UPC Agreement and of the jurisdictional system under Brussels I Regulation. Finally, the Appendix contains the text of Regulations (EU) 1257 and 1260/2012 and of the UPC Agreement.

Introduction -- Defining the public interest in the US and European patent systems -- Confronting the questions of life-form patentability -- Commodification, animal dignity, and patent-system publics -- Forging new patent politics through the human embryonic stem cell debates -- Human genes, plants, and the distributive implications of patents -- Conclusion

The second edition of this acclaimed and widely-used book has been thoroughly updated in light of, among others, the revised Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal, which entered into force in January 2020. It provides the first detailed understanding of these new rules and their influence on opposition and appeal proceedings. Dealing with all stages of proceedings before the European Patent Office, this book provides fresh insight into how best to act at each stage to successfully complete a case in opposition and appeal, detailing how opposition divisions and boards of appeal approach the cases before them.

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

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.

New health technologies promise great things but they also pose significant challenges for governments, particularly around safety concerns, effectiveness, and value for money. This collection analyses the defining features of the relationship between EU law and new technologies, and the roles of risk, rights, ethics, and markets.