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1 October 2015Patents

CIPA Congress 2015: Poisoned chalice v holy grail

Lawyers at the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) annual congress have been discussing international harmonisation of patent law and whether the idea is a “poisoned chalice or holy grail”.

The concept of harmonisation, particularly surrounding grace periods and publication of applications, has been floated for several years.

In 2011, what is known as the Tegernsee group, which comprises experts from the US Patent and Trademark Office, Japan Patent Office and patent offices from Denmark, Germany and France, met to discuss initial ideas for harmonisation.

The findings have been fed back to a specially created group called Group b+, said Andy Bartlett, deputy director at the UK Intellectual Property Office.

The group is due to meet at the World Intellectual Property Organization’s general assembly, due to be held in Geneva this week.

Referring to the question of whether it is a poisoned chalice or holy grail, Mark Guetlich, managing director at Global IP Group and a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, said today, October 1, that it was “a bit of both” but said a conversation needs to happen.

“We have an obligation to create global IP rights for all stakeholders,” he said, but added that the law was “currently fragmented” in many areas, not necessarily just patents.

“Trade secrets for example are a valid business tool but the laws are too fragmented. Not even internationally but even across the US, where it is fragmented across 50 states.

“At a fundamental level we need to smooth out the differences in law. If the law is not smooth we block its ability to flourish,” he said.

He added that as the US is a first-to-file nation, implementing a grace period is not its preferred method.

But Sylvie Strobel, a lawyer for international legal affairs at the European Patent Office, said a grace period could be implemented as a compromise for wider harmonisation.

“We need a system that is fair, balanced and non-discriminatory and which does not encourage litigation,” Strobel added.

The theme for this year’s congress is whether the current global IP system is fit for purpose.

The CIPA Congress 2015 runs from October 1 to 2.

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