Recent Articles

The Political Legacy Of Ms Alison Brimelow

Axel H. Horns
March 03, 2010 15:21

Earlier in May 2009 I had reported that Ms Brimelow is not going to apply for a second term in Office as President of the European Patent Office beyond her term ending in June 2010. After considerable woes, the Administrative Council (AC) of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg) eventually...

BREAKING NEWS: Mr. Benoît Battistelli to become next President EPO

Axel H. Horns
March 01, 2010 15:15

There are fresh reports on Twitter saying that Mr. Benoît Battistelli today has won a sufficient majority on the session of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg) running the European Patent Office. Mr Battistelli currently is Director General of France's Institut ...

Improving the Links Between ESOs and the European Patent Office

Axel H. Horns
February 24, 2010 17:08

On July 23, 2009 I had reported that the European Patent Office (EPO) had concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc Standards Association (IEEE-SA). In this context Mr Wim Van der Eijkof the EPO also had indicated that EPO was in talks...

Internet Communication Without Middlemen - The Burgfrieden is Fading

Axel H. Horns
February 23, 2010 23:00

It has always been difficult for contemporaries to recognise the peculiarities of their own epoch in which they live. Later on, after decades or centuries, it is much easier to analyse and explain things ex post in countless doctoral thesis and other scholar work. Nevertheless, those who here and...

A Unified European Patent System - The Historical Perspective

Axel H. Horns
February 18, 2010 20:47

As it is well known to all stakeholders involved, the patent system in Europe is highly fragmented: On the one hand, there is a system of patents granted or registered by national patent offices throughout Europe. On the other hand, in parallel there has been set up a European Patent Office (EPO)...

New EU Council Resolution In The Making: 'Enhancing The Enforcement Of Intellectual Property Rights In The Internal Market'

Axel H. Horns
February 07, 2010 21:15

On February 05, 2010, the General Secretariat of the EU Council has published Document 6164/10 titled “Commission communication 'Enhancing the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the internal market' - Revised proposal for a Council Resolution” replacing its predecessor published in Docum...

Administrative Council Fails To Determine New EPO President

Axel H. Horns
December 10, 2009 15:58

A session of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg) is going on from December 08-11, 2009.Reports are coming in that yesterday another round of voting to determine the next EPO President has failed. According to Article 11 (1) EPC, the President of the European...

A Few Comments On The EU Council's Conclusions On An Enhanced Patent System in Europe

Axel H. Horns
December 07, 2009 21:56

A bird in the hand ...Last week we saw the EU Council finalising a number of conclusions on an enhanced patent system in Europe feeding hopes that after long decades of futile endeavour there might be, on some day in future, a happy end of this story. But - after having thought of that issue over...

(Partial) Political Breakthrough: Conclusions On An Enhanced Patent System In Europe

Axel H. Horns
December 04, 2009 16:30

Ms Lene ESPERSEN, Danish Minister of Economic and Business Affairs,Ms Sabine LEUTHESSER-SCHNARRENBERGER, German Minister of Justice Today was the final day of the 2982nd Competitiveness (Internal market, Industry and Research) EU Council meeting and, as expected, some important political signal was...

EU Community Patent And UPLS: Will There Be A Political Breakthrough Soon?

Axel H. Horns
November 18, 2009 12:03

On November 02, 2009, I had reported on Document 15149/09 addressed to the Intellectual Property Attachés of the EU Member States and titled Proposal for a Council Regulation on the Community patent - Revised text. To what end will these preparatory works come, and when? The Intellectual Property ...