tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post463926741800221696..comments2024-03-29T06:00:27.896+00:00Comments on The IPKat: Daniels in the lions' den: can they avert a disaster of Biblical proportions?Verónica Rodríguez Arguijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05763207846940036921noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-8790469905395768652011-10-01T15:17:04.095+01:002011-10-01T15:17:04.095+01:00A video related to the topic
http://www.youtube.c...A video related to the topic<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7GHh5unGfgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-6375409451936977252011-09-28T14:53:18.866+01:002011-09-28T14:53:18.866+01:00As someone who enjoys working in patent litigation...As someone who enjoys working in patent litigation, this blog post have got me really worried. The current proposals for the Unified Court, if implemented in full, would be a disaster for industry in the EU.<br /><br />This snippet in particular filled me with dread: "So what did Margot Fröhlinger make of all this in her speech? Dishearteningly she said that some aspects of the agreement such as bifurcation and composition of panels "could not be improved"."<br /> <br />The following post has just been left on the PatLit Blog, which sums up why this is such a worry, but it also offers a simple solution to the problem (or an 'improvement' to paraphrase Dr Frohlinger):<br /><br />"My single biggest concern with the proposed court structure echoes that of Tony Blair; bifurcation, bifurcation, bifurcation.<br /><br />The German bifurcated system is structurally unfair to defendants, as it does not enable alleged infringers to adequately defend themselves against the assertion of invalid patents. The telecoms and electronics sectors, which are plagued by high numbers of dubious patents, would be in constant danger of having their businesses severely disrupted if German-style bifurcation were permitted under the new Unified Court structure.<br /><br />It is completely understandable that German lawyers would want to retain the division, as this would inevitably lead to even more cases being started in Germany, but I cannot believe that anyone without a vested interest can honestly defend the bifurcated system. In theory, if the EPO had sufficient resources to ensure that only valid patents were granted, then bifurcation might be justifiable. In reality, however, there are many thousands of highly questionable patents in force in Europe which patentees would be reluctant to assert in jurisdictions which permit revocation counterclaims. With the bifurcated system, there is no such reluctance, and it allows a patentee to take a 'free hit' at a defendant's business. The prospect of having an injunction granted against you, preventing you doing business across the whole of Europe for even a very brief period, must be rather terrifying.<br /><br />A politically acceptable answer would be to permit bifurcation of infringement and validity only where the parties agree to it. A defendant is, in most cases, unlikely to consent to bifurcation, but the option would still remain if it were genuinely appropriate to the case and fair to all concerned."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-47461975369987825942011-09-28T08:21:03.049+01:002011-09-28T08:21:03.049+01:00I am curious as to where can I find this Swedish p...I am curious as to where can I find this Swedish paper what Judge Robert van Peursem was supportive of. <br /><br />best, <br />Jonas BossonJonashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05510932589006292659noreply@blogger.com