Insights

We have put together a handy list of organisations that provide business support relating to a variety of issues ranging from intellectual property (IP) to funding. Many of the resources can be accessed free of charge by anyone, but some of the programmes and funding opportunities are only available to UK businesses.

Given that the ‘average consumer’ is a legal construct, and ‘honest use in industrial and commercial matters’ as well as ‘honest concurrent use’ are considered objectively, it is questionable whether actual witnesses are going to be of any real assistance to the court in deciding these matters.

As a diverse and inclusive workplace, we are extremely proud of the support and development we offer our female employees. This week celebrates International Women in Engineering day so what better time to highlight the achievements of the women in our Engineering team by taking the time to find out what inspired them to begin their career in the industry.

We interviewed Laura Ramsay, Partner in our Oxford office:

Today is International Women in Engineering day so what better time to celebrate the females in our Engineering team by taking the time to find out what inspired them to begin their career in this field and how the industry can kick-start change.

We interviewed Katie Dunne, Senior Associate in our London office:

As a diverse and inclusive workplace, we are extremely proud of the support and development we offer our female employees. This week celebrates International Women in Engineering day so what better time to highlight the achievements of the women in our Engineering team by taking the time to find out what inspired them to begin their career in the industry.

We interviewed Iram Ali, Technical Assistant in our Manchester office:

As a diverse and inclusive workplace, we are extremely proud of the support and development we offer our female employees. This week celebrates International Women in Engineering day so what better time to highlight the achievements of the women in our Engineering team by taking the time to find out what inspired them to begin their career in the industry.

We interviewed Melissa Lever, Technical Assistant in our Munich office:

Whilst patent protection from the European Patent Office for individual plant varieties is excluded by Article 53(b) EPC, it is possible to obtain plant variety rights in Europe under the UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) provisions by applying to the Community Plant Variety Office. In order to obtain plant variety protection in Europe, there are several requirements which must be met by the variety.

A divisional patent application is one created when a ‘parent’ application is divided in order to seek protection for subject matter disclosed, but not (or no longer) claimed, in the parent application. A properly filed divisional retains the filing and priority date of the parent application, but thereafter is treated independently. A European divisional application is limited to member states designated in the parent application at the time the divisional was filed.

Under the so-called ‘Bolar’ exemption, clinical trials for generics and biosimilars are exempt from infringement. In some European countries, including the UK, the exemption even extends to innovative products.

The 11th of February is The International Day of Women and Girls in Science.  To mark this day, and honour the effort the global community has made in inspiring and engaging women and girls in science, technology, maths and engineering, we wanted to add our voices, as the lack of visibility of female role models is one of the key factors that contribute to gender stereotypes across these industries, which can influence a girl’s choice in deciding whether to pursue an education or career in STEM.