Dan Whalen is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School Bayer was dealt a blow when the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the decision to deny the company a patent of a medical compound because it held a product-by-process patent for the substance already. In 1987, when the pharmaceutical giant received said rights, the […]
Robert Dewald is a J.D. Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School Canadian telecommunications giant Research in Motion (RIM), which manufacturers the popular BlackBerry, has reportedly offered information and tools to assist India’s government in monitoring encrypted emails and messaging services (Reuters). India, which had threatened to shut down the BlackBerry service, is the latest country to […]
Robert Dewald is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School On May 12, 2010 the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) responded to several questions posed by the President of the EPO, Ms Alison Brimelow, regarding the patentability of computer programs in Europe. The resounding answer to these questions, provided […]
Geraldine Soon is an exchange student at Osgoode Hall and is taking the Patent Law course. At the Standing Commmittee on the Law of Patents’ (SCLP) 13th session in March 2009, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s secretariat established a preliminary study on the “exceptions from patentable subject matter and limitations to the rights, inter […]
Alex Gloor is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. The debate over the patentability of computer software has been well-documented, and there seems to be no end in sight. Supporters of software patents defend the right by using many of the historical rationales for patents, such as disclosure of the invention, stimulation of […]
Alex Gloor is a JD Student at Osgoode Hall Law School The next step in the well documented Bilski case took place on Nov. 9 when the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments from both parties. As a quick reminder, the issue revolves around the patenting of business methods; in this case, the subject […]
Alex Gloor is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. A search for prior art is performed before any patent application is filed. This purpose of this search is to try and ensure that the invention in question satisfies the novelty and non-obviousness requirements. However, the scenario may arise where documents containing relevant prior […]
In a recent post Microsoft's Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Horacio Gutierrez, articulated the need for a global patent system calling it "a necessity, if national patent authorities are to overcome the substantial difficulties they face". With respect to patent applications, such difficulties include, increased number of patent application backlogs, longer pendency periods, […]
Software patents have been criticized frequently in recent years for a multitude of reasons. Computer programmers argue that they can make programming impossible for both commercial and for non-profit projects. Some analysts have noted that they do not promote innovation like patents in other industries do, and may in fact be hurting research and development […]
On Friday, July 31st, the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce approved “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act” by a narrow three-vote margin. The bill was introduced in the House by Wisconsin Democrat Representative John Dingell. Representatives from around the country stated that the bill “will deliver the results the nation’s health care system […]