News

Last 14th January 2016, the CCTV News Channel broadcasted a talk show where Dr. Lulin GAO (Chairman of Beijing East IP Ltd. and Founding Commissioner of SIPO) and Mr. David Kappos (Partner of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and former Commissioner of the USPTO) discussed about the IP protection in China, exchanging their views about the developments occurred in this field during the past years.

The "Opposition and Appeal" seminar will provide you with an intensive and practical overview of all relevant legal and practical issues concerning opposition and appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office.

Professional Education Committee (PEC)

The membership fee has been increased by a decision taken at the 79th Council meeting held recently in Cologne.

The last fee increase occured in 2007 and the epi Council deemed that the present increase is necessary now in order to keep the financial health of the epi and in view of the many services that are to be provided to its members and with the required quality.

João Pereira da Cruz, Secretary General

Peter Thomsen, Treasurer

Update 7 December 2015

The epi’s Litigation Committee members from the various EU Member States have contributed information on the latest developments in their respective countries with regard to the ratification process.

On 22 January 2016, EPLIT will run a mock-trial under the 18th draft of the Rules of Procedure for the Unified Patent Court (UPC). The case to be tried is between Improver Corporation and Remington Consumer Products and concerns a depilatory device, better known as the "Epilady" case. This case was litigated in the late 1980's and early 1990's before various national courts in Europe with drastically different outcomes. For that reason it serves as a reminder of why further harmonization of patent litigation in Europe is a worthy cause. The mock-trial will be staged before the Local Division of the UPC in Munich.