Company Services
The Firm has developed a major part of its reputation through its capability in dealing with "difficult" cases. At the sharp end of that capability is its track record in EPO opposition practise (and in other primarily EPO contentious practise). Most - by no means all - of this experience is in the Life Sciences area.
Two of the Directors can claim success rates of "over 80%" and "75% plus" in EPO oppositions and similar EPO matters.
The Oppositions Team is no stranger to complex and high value oppositions. We are used to defending clients' patents against multiple opponents, in some cases numbering well into double figures. Equally, we are accustomed to challenging and defending patents having balance sheet values in the £100m's.
Case Studies:
- Harvard “Oncomouse” and several other cases defended against over 15 opponents in each case.
- The “Mullis” PCR Thermocycler case successfully defended at first instance (Mullis received a Nobel Prize for the technique for which this computer-controlled apparatus is used)
- GSK patent successfully challenged by arguments including the argument that a parent patent can be anticipated by its divisional application if the parent claims are amended in such a manner that they lose their priority date.
- Opposition cases which on appeal have made new law on a number of issues:
- Legal requirements in relation to prior art presentations
- Standards for enablement
- Transferability of oppositions from one party to another (decided by the Enlarged Board of Appeal – the “supreme” court of the EPO).
- The BMS “treatment regime” case in the EPO (which decided differently to the UK Court of Appeal)
- Four oppositions heard at oral proceedings on consecutive days all defended successfully to secure the client's commercial position with a suite of analysis apparatus products (the cases transferred to us from another practice for the purposes of the oral proceedings)
