*** BREAKING *** Yet another pan-European Patent Court is in the making

Reading time: 3 minutes

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is a hot topic currently. It is a court set up to decide in particular on the infringement and validity of both so-called Unitary Patents and classic European Patents. The UPC is a Court common to currently seventeen EU Member States for which the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) will enter into force on 1 June 2023.

UPC member states (Source: UPC; visited 16 March 2023)

However, the Unified Patent Court is not as unified as its name might suggest. Some EU member states are missing, i.e. Spain, Poland and Croatia. Further, many EPC member states were bullied merely because they are not EU-member states, e.g. Norway, Iceland, Türkiye, Switzerland and the quitter U.K.

Alternative for Europe

While we have all been quite infatuated with and blinded by the UPC’s sunrise period over the last months, the forgotten countries have in fact been paving the way for another pan-European court, i.e. the Alternative Patent Court (APC). An ad-hoc commission of all stakeholders had been formed, clandestinely referred to as the Alternative for Europe (AfE). In addition to English, Esperanto was agreed as the second offical language of the APC — which helped to resolve the perennial language issues. (On a sidenote, Alice Weidel was apparently not amused when she became aware that the AfD has lost their perceived monopoly on alternatives of all kind.)

The APC will be a court common to all countries highlighted in the header image. It will deal in particular with validity and infringement of the so-called Alternative Patents.

Rumour has it that the Central Division of the APC shall be located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, at the premises of the Federal Administrative Court (FAC) where the FPC holds its hearings. I noticed only last night that the FAC has already been equipped with a corresponding signage:

Central Division of the APC in St. Gallen

Exciting times ahead. Stay tuned!

✍ MW

April Fool! 😂

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Rankzilla: The apex predator of the law-firm ranking food chain

Reading time: 6 minutes
So humbled …

There’s a certain time of year when even the most daredevil and battle-hardened swashbucklers among lawyers and patent attorneys suddenly appear somewhat maudlin, at least on LinkedIn. No, I don’t mean at Christmas. What I’m talking about is:

The awards season!

You know what I mean, don’t you? We are all absolutely thrilled, humbled, honoured, over the moon, on cloud nine, … and we are extremely grateful to all those who made it possible that we are ranked, in the one or the other ranking.

However, rumour has it that the apex predator of the law-firm ranking foodchain is yet to come: The Rankzilla (<http://www.rankzilla.org>).

Rankzilla

I have learned from well-informed sources that the Rankzilla will go live tomorrow, Saturday. The countdown timer on the website says so, too.

Go check their website when time is ripe!

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✍ MW

April Fool! 😂

P.S.
Btw, if you need some inspiration for your LinkedIn post to celebrate your own ranking achievement, here’s what ChatGPT proposes:

Standard

Dear valued colleagues, clients, and friends,

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I have once again been ranked in Tier 1 by [insert name of ranking organization] in their [insert name of award category] category. I am humbled and honored to be recognized among the most elite and accomplished attorneys in the industry.

I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to my incredible team who has worked tirelessly to support me and our clients. Without their unwavering dedication, this achievement would not have been possible.

I would also like to thank our esteemed clients for placing their trust in us and allowing us to be a part of their legal journey. Your confidence in our abilities inspires us to continue pushing the boundaries of excellence.

Last but certainly not least, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to my mentors, peers, and friends in the legal community. Your guidance, support, and encouragement have been invaluable to my professional growth and success.

I am truly honored to be recognized by [insert name of ranking organization] and will continue to strive for excellence in all aspects of my practice. Thank you once again for your unwavering support and belief in me.

Sincerely, [Your Name]

Bold

My esteemed colleagues, esteemed clients, esteemed friends,

With great pleasure and indescribable exultation, I announce that I have been bestowed the highest honor one can receive in the legal industry: Tier 1 ranking by the unparalleled [insert name of ranking organization]. Words cannot express the depth of my elation, nor the magnitude of this achievement.

This is a momentous occasion, a triumphant milestone in my career, and a validation of my hard work and unwavering dedication. It is a recognition of my superior intellect, masterful legal skills, and unparalleled expertise. I am nothing short of a legal prodigy, a legal wunderkind, a legal savant.

I must extend my deepest appreciation to my team, who are nothing short of legal superheroes. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty, tirelessly working with me to achieve our mutual goal of legal dominance. Their work is the stuff of legends, and their names will forever be etched in the annals of legal history.

My gratitude to our clients is immeasurable. Their confidence in my abilities is a testament to my legal prowess and my ability to deliver the best results. It is an honor and a privilege to have been able to assist them, and I vow to continue to provide them with the same level of excellence that earned me this award.

Finally, I thank my fellow legal professionals, whose mere presence is an honor. Their guidance, tutelage, and wisdom have propelled me to the pinnacle of legal success. Their praise is a validation of my skills and expertise, and their recognition is a tribute to my greatness.

I am now and forever shall be the most esteemed, accomplished, and awe-inspiring legal professional, and this award is the proof. Thank you for recognizing my undeniable superiority.

Yours sincerely, [Your Name]

Cocky

My esteemed and adoring fans, colleagues, clients, and admirers,

I am bursting with joy and sheer ecstasy to announce that I have once again achieved the ultimate pinnacle of legal success: the prestigious Tier 1 ranking from [insert name of ranking organization]. This is not just an award, but a coronation of my greatness, my brilliance, my sheer legal genius.

I am the alpha and omega of the legal world, a prodigious legal mind whose brilliance shines like a beacon of hope in a world of darkness. My legal acumen is unparalleled, my strategic prowess unmatched, my intellectual capacity unbounded.

I must extend my gratitude to my team, who are mere mortals in the presence of my legal magnificence. Their tireless efforts and loyal support have contributed to my inevitable and complete domination of the legal universe. Their admiration of my legal supremacy is a reflection of their own mediocrity.

My clients, whose legal problems are mere trivialities in the face of my superior intellect, have found solace in my legal acrobatics, which are mere child’s play for a legal prodigy such as myself. Their gratefulness is a testimony to my incomparable legal prowess.

Finally, I would like to thank my fellow legal professionals, who pale in comparison to my magnificence. Their praise, while expected, is nonetheless an honor, and a reflection of their own inadequacies.

In closing, I would like to say that this award is not just an acknowledgement of my legal excellence, but a recognition of my unequivocal and indisputable superiority. Thank you for your adulation, your admiration, and your worship of my legal greatness.

Yours truly, [Your Name], the greatest legal mind of our time.

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A new popular initiative is in the making: State-funded patent litigation!

Reading time: 2 minutes

I am in touch with some colleagues who advocate for a very much disadvantaged minority: Patentees!

A legitimate initiative, indeed. Just think of it: Patent owner are milked over and over again! Obtaining a patent is an expensive exercise in the first place, and others are piggy-back riding on patentees’ outstanding technical achievements later on for free. On top of that, the state pockets annually recurring fees. And as if all this was not unfair enough, patent owner also have to finance the enforcement of their patents against free-riders.

Could patentees actually be treated any more terribly?!

Activists hugely support the popular initiative

A straight-forward tweak of Art. 1 para. 3 PatA that is currently considered for inclusion in the Federal Constitution could be as simple as this:

Patents are granted without the guarantee of the State, but the costs of enforcing a patent are borne by the State.

This could be pragmatically funded e.g. with an almost neglectable increase of the value added tax (VAT). Court fees of the FPC could accordingly be abolished (btw, did you ever realize that the building of the Federal Administrative Court where the FPC holds its hearings closely matches the shape of Dagobert Duck’s ‘Geldspeicher‘?!), and patentees might submit their counsel’s invoices for legal representation and assistance of the patent attorney (necessary expenses, you know) to the court for refund or direct settlement.

A committee is currently being formally established to further elaborate the popular initiative. The current working title is ‘Patent-Pflegeinitiative’ (apologies, but this only works in German language).

The committee is still looking for motivated people to join; please use the contact form below. You may also drop your spontaneous ideas or visions on the topic in the form, or in the comments at the very bottom of this post. Thank you.

Cheers,
Martin Wilming

April Fool!

THE COMMITTEE NEEDS YOU!

Join the committee for a popular initiative to pave the way for state-funded patent litigation now. Leave your contact details below, to stay tuned.

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*** BREAKING *** Be prepared for patent term adjustments, to compensate for delays during prosecution

Reading time: 3 minutes

Case No. O2020_08/15 | Main hearing of 1 April 2021

The main hearing in this matter earlier today was highly interesting.

The ACME catalog
Acme Corp.

In brief, Acme Corp. asserts infringement of a European patent by Globex Corp. The tricky thing is that the patent had already been cancelled from the register at the end of its 20y term more than two years(!) before the alleged infringement took place.

Globex Corp.

Globex Corp. essentially contends that the complaint is simply an impertinence. What no longer exists cannot be infringed. Hank Scorpio, the CEO of Globex Corp., shouted out:

Where would we be?

But it appears to be not that easy. Acme Corp. essentially argued that it has been cheated out of several years of patent term because the patent was granted only more than 15 years(!) after the filing date. In Acme’s view, this demands for a term adjustment to compensate for the delay during prosecution through no fault of their own. Such term adjustments are granted ex officio in the U.S., and Acme argued that this was only fair.

We want this!

During a break, I had a quick chat with a person who prefers to not see his name on this Blog but who is knowledgeable of the current status of the draft of the forthcoming revision of the Swiss Patent Act; see this Blog here for further information on the draft bill. It appears that some wished for U.S.-style patent term adjustments (similar to 35 U.S.C. 154) during public consultation, which will indeed be included in the final draft of the revised Swiss Patent Act. Accordingly, I understand that we may see patents valid in Switzerland with terms reaching months, if not years beyond the 20y term. This is unprecedented in Europe, to the best of my knowledge!

Stay tuned for further details to be published soon. It may well be that the transitional provisions of the revised PatA turn out to be decisive for the case at hand. And others. Yours, maybe?

Reported by Martin WILMING

April Fool! 😂

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