Expert Analysis

• The Unique Challenges Of Owning International Cannabis IP

  

  Due to the cost of prosecuting patents and the uncertainty in obtaining and enforcing cannabis patents in foreign jurisdictions, building a global cannabis patent portfolio presents complex strategic questions, says Jayashree Mitra of Zuber Lawler.

• IP Protection Still Elusive For Data Compilations In US And EU

  

  As businesses continue to increase investment into artificial intelligence systems, questions arise as to whether they can own or legally protect data compiled by those systems. Currently, in the U.S. and EU, obtaining copyright protection for databases is difficult and trade secret protection requires policies and procedures to establish rights, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• Perspectives

  Artisanal Miners' Roadblocks To Justice: Is A Path Clearing?

  

  Efforts to give small-scale gold miners, who face displacement, pollution and violence at sites around the world, access to fair and functioning justice systems have met with apathy from politicians and fierce resistance from powerful business lobbies, but there are signs that this may be changing, says Mark Pieth, president of the Basel Institute on Governance.

• How PTAB Is Applying New Patent Eligibility Guidance

  

  Since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office released its revised patent eligibility guidance in January, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has been reversing Section 101 rejections at a higher rate, say Nick Anderson and Braden Katterheinrich of Faegre Baker Daniels.

• Keys To Successful AI Patents In The US And Europe

  

  Unsurprisingly, the World Intellectual Property Organization recently reported that patent filings for artificial intelligence inventions are increasing rapidly. Stakeholders should be mindful of maintaining quality during this filing surge, says Drew Schulte of Haley Guiliano LLP.

• 9 Ways To Prepare Your IP Rights For Brexit

  

  Those with a European intellectual property portfolio should be considering how Brexit — scheduled for March 29 — will affect EU trademarks and registered community designs, says Paula Jill Krasny of Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC.

• 'Biosimilar V. Biosimilar' Patent Case May Be First Of Many

  

  ​While the idea of patent disputes between makers of follow-on drugs is nothing new​, the complaint recently filed by Coherus against Amgen in Delaware federal court is unique in that it pits one biosimilar developer against another, say attorneys with Goodwin Procter LLP.

• UK Patent Law: Hot Topics Of 2018 And What's Ahead

  

  English courts have been active in the past year, grappling with patent topics like plausibility and equivalents, and 2019 promises to be another exciting year as English patent lawyers await developments on obviousness, insufficiency and employee inventor compensation, says Jin Ooi of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

• Coordinating Patent Strategies Across PTAB And EPO

  

  The positions, arguments and prior art raised in U.S. post-grant proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board may influence European Patent Office oppositions involving counterpart cases. Understanding the procedural similarities and differences between the two jurisdictions is key, says Drew Schulte of Haley Guiliano LLP.

• New EU Patent Guidelines May Affect Companies' AI Strategy

  

  As compared to the European Patent Office’s guidelines for artificial intelligence and machine learning — which take effect on Thursday — the U.S. eligibility framework may prove to be more favorable to innovators, say Jennifer Maisel and Eric Blatt of Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck PC​​​​​​​.

• Intellectual Property Caught In US-China Trade Crossfire

  

  Earlier this year, President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese products as a response to China’s trade practices concerning technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. The U.S.-Chinese trade war highlights the need to approach investments in China differently, taking a broad view of intellectual assets and looking beyond basic legal protection, says Holly White, a consultant at Rouse & Co.

• Patent Eligibility Assessments: US Approach Vs. UK Approach

  

  Techniques used to address questions of obviousness in the U.K. may prove useful to practitioners addressing questions of patent eligibility in the U.S., say Christopher Carroll and Charles Larsen of White & Case LLP.

• Surveying The CRISPR Patent War

  

  Following this week’s oral argument at the Federal Circuit in University of California v. Broad Institute, there has been a surge of interest in the long-running CRISPR patent dispute. There are battles raging on multiple fronts, particularly in Europe, with several more on deck in the U.S., and maybe even in China, says Michael Stramiello of Paul Hastings LLP.

• UK Patent Ruling Sharpens Contrast With US Practice

  

  The U.K. Court of Appeal's decision last month in Regeneron v. Kymab is significant because it aligns the U.K.’s approach to the assessment of insufficiency with that of the European Patent Office. It also highlights, for U.S. companies, the stricter standard to which patent specifications are subject in Europe, say Edward Kelly and Regina Sam Penti of Ropes & Gray LLP.

• IP Considerations For UK Open Banking App Developers

  

  Since January of this year, consumer-facing banks in the U.K. have been required to make customers' banking data available to authorized third parties in a standardized format. As competition between open banking app developers increases, intellectual property rights will become a key legal tool, say Rajvinder Jagdev and Peter Damerell of Powell Gilbert LLP.