Current news

The Countdown is on …

On July 14, 2020 our first, free-of-charge WebSeminar titled "The inescapable trap and triangle of death – The EPC a Bermuda Triangle?" will be held in cooperation with iam/Lexology.
Interested? Then register here or find further information here.
We look forward to welcoming you!

International IP Practice WebSeminar Chicago

This year, our Seminar in cooperation with WIPO and UIC John Marshall Law School, Chicago, will take place on October 16, 2020 in the form of an online Seminar. Details can be found here.

IAM Patent 1000 recommends us:

"Based in Freising, KUHNEN & WACKER provides farsighted, client-focused patent prosecution services to innovators across all sectors, from pharmaceuticals to mechanical engineering. Whether conducting patent searches, portfolio management, due diligence or freedom-to-operate analyses, it operates with percipience and finesse; it also has all the answers to competition law questions. The trusted allies of companies not only from within Germany and Europe, but also from as far afield as Asia and North America, its attorneys regularly collaborate to ensure a perfectly tailored service. Many have hands-on experience as R&D engineers, which means they speak the language of their clients and intimately understand their needs."

See firm profile

WebSeminar “The inescapable trap and triangle of death – The EPC a Bermuda Triangle?” on July 14, 2020

We are pleased to invite you to join our first WebSeminar in cooperation with iam/Lexology on July 14, 2020, titled "The inescapable trap and triangle of death – The EPC a Bermuda Triangle?"

This free-of-charge WebSeminar will provide valuable practical advice of what to observe and take into consideration when filing PCT/EP applications. It will present many specific examples of what pitfalls to avoid and how to minimize hassles regarding formality objections right from the beginning of the drafting process. We will share our practical experience from recent cases with you, with a Q&A section after the presentation. Topics will include:

• Clarity and enabling disclosure
• Avoiding unnecessary limitations in original claims
• How to avoid costs for excess claims
• Advantage of national patent applications

Speakers:
Detlef von Ahsen, KUHNEN & WACKER IP Law Firm
Dr. Michael Zeitler, KUHNEN & WACKER IP Law Firm
Moderator of "iam webinars"

More information here https://www.lexology.com/Events/Details/8030

Please register here for our free WebSeminar.

We look forward to seeing you then!

Can artificial intelligence (AI) be named as inventor?

Some months ago, the European Patent Office (EPO) answered this question negatively by pointing out that inventors can only be natural persons. 

In corresponding US cases, the USPTO now shared the view of the EPO. Read more here.

COVID-19 Update: European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) dated April 29, 2020

EUIPO further extends all time limits to May 18, 2020.

Please see here for further information.

COVID-19 Update: European Patent Office (EPO) dated May 1, 2020

The European Patent Office (EPO) extends all deadlines that expire on or after March 15, to June 2, 2020. 
Please see here for further information.

COVID-19 Update: European Patent Office (EPO) dated April 16, 2020

The European Patent Office (EPO) extends all deadlines that expire on or after March 15, to May 4, 2020.
Please see here for further information.

INTERNATIONAL PATENT PROSECUTION AND PRACTICE SEMINAR IN CHICAGO

On November 10 and 11, 2020, we will present our Seminar in cooperation with WIPO at UIC John Marshall Law School, Chicago. More details will follow soon.

Unified Patent Court stopped by German Constitutional Court!

On March 20, 2020, the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) issued its decision that the Act of Approval to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court to confer sovereign powers on the Unified Patent Court is void, because - although the Parliament (Bundestag) unanimously approved the Act by the 35 members present - it did not approve the Act with the required "qualified majority" of 2/3 of all members.

Importantly, the Court's decision rejected all other objections to German ratification in the Complaint, saying, in paragraph 91, "Otherwise it [the Complaint] is inadmissible."

A press release summarizing the findings of the court can be found here.

Consequences of this decision:

• The German ratification is still missing and the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court system cannot start without it.
• Whether the government is making a new attempt for ratification can currently not be foreseen. Even if the ratification process is started again, it remains uncertain whether it will achieve the required two-thirds majority in both houses - Parliament (Bundestag) and Federal Council (Bundesrat).
• After the UK recently announced that it no longer intends to be part of the Unified Patent Court System, this certainly is a severe setback for the project of the Unified Patent Court and hence the whole Unitary patent system.
• For now, the UP/UPC project is stopped and it is currently not foreseeable for how long.