» Patents Without Secrets

Interpretation of Patent Claims

The extent of the protection conferred by a patent is determined by claims included in the patent description. This rule finds expression in Article 63 Section 2 of the Polish Act of 30 June 2000 — the Industrial Property Law (IPL); the provision in question specifies that the description and drawings can be used for the interpretation of claims. Despite seemingly unambiguous wording, this...

The Debate on the Waiver of Patents for Vaccines Against SARS-CoV-2

The subject that we have already written about in our previous Legal Reports — the suspension of patent protection for vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus (see: Patent rights: an obstacle for development of a vaccine against COVID-19? (WTS Legal Report No. 15/2020) and What is permitted under the TRIPS Agreement when it comes to the scarcity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines? (WTS Legal Report No....

New medical uses: the basic information

The patentability requirements have already been extensively covered in our publications: let us remind you that according to Article 24 of the Act of 30 June 2000 - Industrial Property Law (hereinafter: IPL), patents are granted for inventions that satisfy the criteria of novelty, inventive step, and industrial application. As for novelty, more detailed rules for its assessment are provided...

Patent licensing

Under Article 66 Section 2 of the Act of 30 June 2000 - Industrial Property Law (hereinafter as IPL), a patent holder can give to another person a contractual authorization (a license) to use their invention (a licensing agreement). In this article in the series "Patents Without Secrets" we would like to present you the key information regarding licensing agreements in the Polish patent law:...

The extended scope of patent rights: Articles 64 and 65 of the IPL

The most recent posts in our cycle "Patents Without Secrets" concerned the limitations to patent rights; this time we would like to present you the other side of the coin: namely, situations wherein the legislator allows for the extension of the scope of protection. In other terms, we would like discuss in which cases we will be dealing with the indirect patent protection. The indirectness of...

Limitations to patent rights: compulsory licenses in the Polish legal system

Both Polish and international law provide certain institutions that — even though not extensively used in practice — allow to interfere with a patent holder's exclusive right to use an invention. We would like to dedicate this entry in our cycle Patents Without Secrets to offer you an overview of the Polish regulation in the area of compulsory licenses. This issue gains particular...

Proceedings before the UPSTO: Request for Continued Examination (RCE)

We present you the third entry in our cycle "Patents without Secrets” that is dedicated to regulations related to patent procedure in the American jurisdiction. Many of our Clients express their interest in seeking patent protection in the USA, therefore we would like to provide you with all the essential information regarding proceedings before the UPSTO. Having discussed already such topics...

Proceedings before the UPSTO: The continuation-in-part application

We would like to present you the second entry in our cycle "Patents without Secrets” that is dedicated to regulations related to patent procedure in the American jurisdiction. Many of our Clients express their interest in seeking patent protection in the USA, therefore we would like to provide you with all the essential information regarding proceedings before the UPSTO. In the following...

Proceedings before the UPSTO: a provisional patent application

This is the first entry in our cycle "Patents without Secrets” that opens a series of articles dedicated to the American IP law. Many of our clients express their interest in seeking patent protection in the USA, therefore we would like to provide you with all the essential information regarding proceedings before the UPSTO. In the following article we invite you to explore the institution...

Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC)

The post is available only in Polish.

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