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J A Kemp LLP continues to provide a full service to all clients, operating within the guidelines issued by European governments. As far as possible, please use email to contact the firm and, in particular, to issue any instructions.

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News

30 September 2020

Actavis Strikes Again: Edwards Lifesciences Find Success in Second High Court Heart Valve Case of 2020

For the High Court of England and Wales, Mr Justice Birss judged that Meril’s Navigator device, a catheter based delivery system for their MyVal transcatheter heart valve, infringed an Edwards Lifesciences patent covering their SAPIEN valve, under the doctrine of equivalents. The decision provides further guidance on the application of Actavis vs Lilly and is another example of its positive influence for patentees. This was the second decision involving Edwards Lifesciences handed down by Birss J in 2020. The first decision resulted in an injunction being awarded against Edwards Lifesciences.  In the wake of the global pandemic, Edwards Lifesciences vs Meril...

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25 September 2020

UK High Court Confirms AI Cannot be an Inventor

In a decision published earlier this week, the high court has confirmed a decision by the UKIPO that a machine learning system or algorithm cannot be regarded as the inventor of a patent under the UK Patents Act 1977 as such a system is not a "natural person". The court further confirmed the UKIPO decision that such a system cannot transfer such rights to a human as it is not entitled to own them to begin with. This decision is not surprising and follows the approach taken by the EPO and USPTO and the opinions of other patent offices. The applicant...

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16 September 2020

Claiming Priority for EU IPO Registered Community Designs (RCDs) Simplified

From 12 September 2020 the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EU IPO) will participate in the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Digital Access Service (DAS) as an office of second filing. This enables users to supply the EU IPO with a DAS code on filing a priority-claiming registered design application, and thereby automate the transmission of the priority document(s) to the EU IPO. Earlier this year the EU IPO announced that the RCD system was to participate in DAS, which is a service that allows participating IP Offices to exchange Paris convention priority documents electronically, and thereby avoid the need for...

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14 September 2020

EPO to Trial Zoom as a Platform for Oral Proceedings by Video Conference

The EPO announced today that it will be testing Zoom as a platform for “oral proceedings involving multiple opponents and/or requiring simultaneous interpretation”. Up until now, the EPO has been using Skype as the platform for video conference oral proceedings. However, a limitation of Skype is that it does not allow for multiple distinct audio channels, which would be necessary for cases where simultaneous interpretation is required. By contrast, Zoom does allow for simultaneous interpretation to be provided on distinct audio channels.  While it remains the case that EPO opposition oral proceedings can only proceed by video conference with the consent...

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11 September 2020

UKIPO is Calling for Views on the Impact of AI on IP Rights

The UKIPO has issued an open consultation including a call for views in relation to artificial intelligence and intellectual property. The consultation includes a number of questions in various fields of intellectual property (IP) including patents, designs, trademarks and copyright, inviting respondents to contribute their opinions on the present and future legal framework of how these rights interact with developments in the field of AI. The questions in the consultation focus on ownership of IP developed by AI as well as the potential infringement of IP by AI processes. The deadline for providing views is 30 November 2020. Recent developments in...

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28 August 2020

Unwired Planet v Huawei: UK Supreme Court Confirms that English Courts can Determine Global FRAND terms

The UK Supreme Court has upheld the landmark judgement by Birss J in 2017 that an English court can grant an injunction to restrain infringement of declared standard essential UK patents, with a proviso that the injunction would cease to have effect if the defendant entered into the FRAND licence settled by the English court. Also upheld by the UK Supreme Court was the finding by Birss J that, in the circumstances, the FRAND licence would necessarily be a global (worldwide) licence, not a licence only in respect of the UK patents. Please see the J A Kemp briefing for further...

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30 July 2020

J A Kemp to Move its London Office to New Premises

J A Kemp will move its London office to new, modern premises early in 2021. The new office will be located in Turnmill St, at the heart of the thriving business district of Farringdon. The centrally located office will be close to both the Underground network and the new Elizabeth Line, with excellent connections across London. J A Kemp will occupy several floors of a fully refurbished building known as “The Stills”. The firm expects the building to serve as a high quality home for its London office for many years to come. The new premises will provide an attractive, modern...

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29 July 2020

EPO Postpones all Opposition Division Oral Proceedings for the Remainder of 2020

The EPO has announced today that all opposition division oral proceedings scheduled to take place in 2020 are being postponed. There remains the option for opposition division oral proceedings to take place by videoconference under the EPO’s pilot project (see our briefing on videoconference oral proceedings here), but only with the consent of all parties.  The EPO has not been conducting in person opposition division oral proceedings at its offices since March 2020, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EPO had previously been hoping to resume in person opposition division oral proceedings from 15 September 2020, but has presumably now...

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29 July 2020

Measures Being Taken by EPO, EUIPO, WIPO and UK IPO in Relation to COVID-19 Pandemic

The European Patent Office (EPO), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the International Bureau (IB) of WIPO and other intellectual property offices are taking measures in view of the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic. Measures Taken by the EPO The EPO has adopted a number of measures in view of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the EPO initially extended all “periods” expiring on or after 15 March 2020 until 2 June 2020 for all parties and their representatives, under the provisions of Rule 134(2) EPC, second sentence. In accordance with Article 150(2) EPC, this extension...

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20 July 2020

UK Withdraws from UPC Agreement

Further to a previous announcement that the UK government would not be seeking involvement in the UP/UPC system, the UK today announced its official withdrawal from the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement. The UP/UPC system is an EU initiative to establish a Unitary Patent (UP) having unitary effect throughout the EU member states, and to establish the Unified Patent Court (UPC) to hear disputes relating to the Unitary Patent, and also relating to European patents having effect in the EU member states.   The UPC agreement was signed in 2013 and ratified by the UK on 26 April 2018 by Theresa May’s...

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10 July 2020

CJEU Overturns Neurim – no SPCs for New Therapeutic uses of Old Active Ingredients

The CJEU issued on 9 July 2020 its judgment in the Santen C-673/18 case.  The judgment , which is reviewed in more detail in our briefing ( here ), overturns the earlier Neurim decision and concludes that SPCs are not available for new therapeutic uses of old active ingredients.   If you have any concerns or queries about the impact of this decision please speak to your usual J A Kemp contact.

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19 June 2020

J A Kemp Ranked as a Leading Firm by IAM Patent 1000 2020

J A Kemp has once again been ranked as a leading patent prosecution firm in “IAM Patent 1000 - The World’s Leading Professionals 2020”. The directory comments: “J A Kemp retains its ‘first-class’ reputation this year thanks to its meticulous prosecution for household names across a range of sectors. With three UK offices and outposts in Paris and Munich, the firm is ideally placed to provide a joined-up service not only to clients from across the continent, but also to players from the United States and Japan seeking to protect their innovations in the region. It has a particular facility for...

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Why Choose Us?

We set great store by what our clients say about us. These comments are all from leading legal and IP directories or provided directly by our clients.

Managing Intellectual Property

J A Kemp was awarded "Best UK Patent Prosecution Firm" at the Managing Intellectual Property Awards 2020.

Chambers and Partners

 "J A Kemp demonstrates excellent technical prowess matched by legal sophistication. Unlike many other European patent attorneys, I view the partners there as collaborators rather than as service providers."

IAM Patent 1000

"Unified team culture, deep concentration of technical expertise and ability to effortlessly switch to another gear in times of extreme need.”

Managing Intellectual Property

“J A Kemp is second to none in my experience.”

Overseas Attorney Firm

"I don’t work with anyone as good.  I recommend J A Kemp because it’s good for my clients."

J A Kemp Client

"If I want an opinion I’ll go with J A Kemp."

Chambers and Partners

"They identify with our priorities, are immediately responsive and generate confidence in their technical ability."

World Trademark Review 1000

“A very sharp firm, nimble on its feet and able to really deliver, J A Kemp is timely, professional and excellent value for money.”

Managing Intellectual Property

"Clients are most impressed with the work of J A Kemp. The team are highly responsive, intensely hard-working, and uniformly thoughtful in their handling of prosecution and post-prosecution matters (e.g. oppositions). They are proactive and induce a high degree of confidence." 

IAM Patent 1000

"J A Kemp offers some of the finest patent services in Europe, delivers cast-iron protection for inventions of all types and conducts sterling opposition and appeal work at the EPO."

Chambers and Partners

"I am really impressed with them.  The team is very proactive, strategic and thinks about the best way to move forward."

The Legal 500

"J A Kemp’s team of trade mark attorneys are true experts and above all extremely commercial."  

IAM Patent 1000

"The whole team is extremely knowledgeable of the underlying subject matter and also of EU patent practice - they do a valuable analysis of the specifications to optimise the patent’s strength."

J A Kemp Client

"J A Kemp gives good, clear, commercial recommendations."

Overseas Attorney Firm

"J A Kemp is my preferred firm because the level of service and understanding of the client’s technology is great."

World Trademark Review 1000

J A Kemp is "a go-to for UK and European trademark matters – its expert practitioners provide practical advice quickly and for a fair price, and impress at every turn".

J A Kemp Client

"J A Kemp has a very 'can do' attitude for jobs which are complex."

Overseas Attorney Firm

"These are some of the most detailed and thorough instructions that I have ever seen. They evidence a keen understanding of US practice."

IAM Patent 1000

"J A Kemp is extremely knowledgeable and does a fantastic job."

Overseas Attorney Firm

"I cannot thank you enough for your expert advice and careful strategic thinking in this matter."

J A Kemp Client

"We want the best protection available and I give J A Kemp the highest marks possible."

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