MODIFICATION OF PATENT REGULATION

EUROPE – EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE (EPO): FILING OF DIVISIONAL APPLICATIONS

A new regulation comes into force on April 1st, 2010 relatively to the filing of divisional applications at the EPO.

From that date, any divisional application will have to be filed at the latest 2 years after the issue of the first communication from the EPO.

Transitional provisions grant a period expiring on October 1st, 2010 for European applications under examination from April 1st, 2010.

USA: PATENT TERM ADJUSTMENT

A recent case-law has highlighted an error from the American Patent Office in calculating the additional period of protection granted on the issue of US patents beyond the period of 20 years.

It is possible, for any patent issued before March 2, 2010, to file a civil action in US Court for reconsideration of that additional period of protection granted by the Office.