The European Patent Convention 2000 introduced new provisions enabling a patentee to limit the claims of its patent, even though the patent has been definitively granted. Now similar provisions have been introduced into French law.
The new law entered into force on January 1, 2009 and constitutes an innovation that offers new perspectives in infringement and revocation litigation.
The situation prior to the new law
Before the new law introduced the limitation procedure, it was practically impossible for a patentee to amend its patent other than by abandoning certain claims so as to maintain only subsidiary claims.
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EPC, IPC, patents