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Intellectual property patent Notes
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Patents I: Chapter 11Justifications,
Registrations, Patentable Subject Matter,
And Industrial Application
Introduction:
A patent may be understood as a monopoly right over the commercial
exploitation of an invention, granted for a limited time (usually 20 years).
Patents may relate to all manner of inventions, including those in the
chemical, mechanical engineering, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and
information technology fields.
Patent law grants territorial right, yet there is also a global significance.
Justifications:
Of all the intellectual property rights, a patent grants a true monopoly, insofar as
it gives the owner an exclusive right to make and sell the invention. Even where
a third party may have independently developed the same innovation. This will
enable the patentee to charge a monopoly price in respect of his or her
invention, and is the reason why owning a patent is so valuable.
Machlup & Penrose (1950)
1. A man has a natural property right in his own ideas. Property is in essence exclusive, and their
appropriation by others must be condemned as stealing. (The natural property right in
ideas)
2. Justice requires that a man receive, and therefore that society secure to him, reward for his
services in proportion as these services are useful to society. (The just reward for the
inventor)
3. Industrial progress is desirable to society. Inventions and their exploitation are necessary to
secure industrial progress. (The best incentive to invent)
4. Granting exclusive patent rights to the inventor in return for public disclosure of his
invention, so that in case of the death of the inventor the secret does not die with him. (The
best incentive to disclose secrets)
Sources of Law:
,1. International: Paris Convention; TRIPS; Patent cooperation Treaty
2. Regional:
a) European Patent Convention EPC (2000)
Aims to make the EPO procedures more effective and efficient and to
bring the EPC into line with international developments
3. National:
a) Patents Act 1977 (PA 77):
The PA 77 established the UK Patent Office, its procedure, and the
substantive law of patents in the UK. The Patents rules 2007 are the
main piece of secondary legislation made under the PA 77 and they
regulate the business and procedure of the UKIPO.
UK court must have regards to the provisions of the European Patent
Convention when interpreting the provisions in PA 77.
In the case of Human Genome Sciences v Eli Lilly & Co, the
supreme court made the following observation about the way in which
English courts should treat decisions of the Boards of Appeal of the
EPO:
Where the EPO decides that a patent, or a claim in a patent, is
invalid, then this is the end of the issue in relation to all countries
which are signatories to the EPC. However, where the EPO decides
that a patent is valid, then it is still open to a national court to
decide that the patent is invalid within its territorial jurisdiction.
The EPO and a national court may come to a different conclusions
because they have different evidence or arguments.
Obtaining a patent
a) Application to UKIPO (UK Intellectual property organisation) you need
to register with them (£230 – 280)
b) Preliminary examination (preliminary search), where the IPO checks
whether you paid the fees, and handed in the right documents
c) Publication of patent, and third party’s observation, where third parties
who anyone who objects to the patent are allowed to argue against it
d) Substantive examination is where those third-party observations will be
taken into account, where the IPO check patentable subject matter,
industrial application, novelty, and inventive step
e) Grant of patent; if the IPO agrees that this is a patentable invention
then they will grant the patent, and there will be a notice made in the
UK IPO official journal, and lasts for 20 years from the date of filing, if
the IPO says this does not qualify as a patent, the inventor will be given
the change to appeal against this
, f) Revocation; even if it is granted, the existence does not always mean
that the patent cannot be revoked, third parties can still challenge
them in court.
g) For example: US patent No. 6,360,693, a patent that was granted
which was probably invalid
Patentable Subject Matter:
1. Introduction:
Article 52(1) of the EPC and section 1(1) of the PA 77 state that a patent
may be granted for:
a. An invention
b. Which is new
c. Involves an inventive step
d. And is capable of industrial application
Section 1(2) of the PA 77 declares that certain things are not inventions,
including:
1. A discovery, scientific theory or mathematical method;
2. A literary, dramatic, musical or srtistic work or any other aesthetic creation
whatsoever;
3. A scheme, rule, or method for performing a mental act, playing a game or
doing business, or a program for a computer
4. The presentation of informtation
2. Applying section 1(2) of the PA 77/ article 52(2) – (3) of the
EPC:
UK patent law previously defined ‘invention’ positively as a ‘manner of new
manufacture’. Under the new law (PA 77 and EPC), the approach is to define
‘invention’ negatively, stipulating certain categories of subject matter that are
not inventions.
In the case below the court of appeal explored why the particular categories are
excluded. We have a number of cases trying to interpret the provision:
Aerotel Ltd v Telco Holdings Ltd [2007]:
Jacob LJ
There is no evident underlying purpose behind the provisions as a
group. The categories are there, but there is nothing to tell you
whether they should be read widely or narrowly.
There is no common overarching concept. One cannot form an overall
approach to the categories.
Some categories even seem unnecessary and meaningless
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