Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Medical Diagnostic Methods More Freely Patentable in Europe
The European Patent Organisation ('EPO') has previously strictly prohibited protecting methods for medical treatment and diagnosis. However, a recent decision by the Enlarged Board of Appeals has clarified and restricted the grounds for rejection under Article 52(4) EPC on the basis of non-patentable subject matter. Thus, many diagnostic methods that were previously unprotectable in Europe may now be patented so long as they comply with the basic guidelines set forth in the opinion.
In G1/04 the Enlarged Board of Appeal stated that, to sustain a rejection for non-patentable subject matter, a claimed method must include steps from all of the following categories:
(i) an examination phase, during which data is collected;
(ii) a comparison of the data to standard values;
(iii) detection of a significant deviation in the course of the comparison; and
(iv) an attribution of the deviation to a particular clinical picture (i.e., a deductive decision phase).
Steps (i) to (iii) include technical and/or non-technical steps for making a diagnosis ' i.e., for collecting information and determining the way or ways in which the data differ from standard data representing, for example, characteristics of individuals free from a condition. That is, step (iii) may represent the identification of a symptom, while step (iv) is regarded as the diagnosis stricto sensu, involving the identification of a particular condition as the cause of the determined deviation or symptom. The step or steps constituting this diagnosis stricto sensu may be performed by a medical practitioner or automatically through the implementation of a device.
G1/04 stresses that a method can only be excluded from patentability under Article 52(4) EPC if it includes steps from each of the categories (i) to (iv).
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.