Patent aggregation is one of the critical paths to raise revenue and earn a return on investment in the ICT sector. It comprises all activities whereby firms build sets of related patents, so-called patent portfolios, and subsequently use these beyond manufacturing. Different kinds of entities...
Constructing a functioning single market for business and trade among the Member States of the European Union (EU) has been the cornerstone of the EU project, and remains one of the strongest drivers for EU-level legislative reform. Over the years, the EU has prioritized the harmonization of...
The implementation of the Unitary Patent Package will represent the result of the evolution towards the unification of the European patent system.
After the initial relief that followed upon reaching a Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Christmas Eve, we slowly see how this treaty is going to affect the tax domain. In this blog I will briefly focus on the area of fiscal state aid, i.e. the...
Almost 20 years ago, in 2002, I had the honour to give one of the “William Harvey lectures” at the University of Padua, celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Englishman’s graduation with a degree in medicine from the famous Italian university.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is arguably one of the biggest crises of modern times. The conflict between the search for a vaccine, and the artificial scarcity created by patent law, has created a catch-22 situation. How will patent law apply to a vaccine under these circumstances?
Several pharmaceutical companies all around the world, including in the European Union (EU), have been racing to find a treatment for the virus. Since these may be subject to patent rights, government intervention may be needed.
On February 1st, the UK has left the EU. This (has had or) will inevitably have an impact on unitary IP rights at EU level. Unitary IP rights such as the Community Plant Variety Right will no longer be valid after the transition period in the UK. What does this mean for holders of a Community Plant...
When the European Council, on 29 October 2019, decided to extend the withdrawal negotiation period until the 31st of January 2020, it became clear that this extension would bear implications also for the composition of the new Commission. Indeed, in recital 11 of the European Council’s decision, it...
Is there an impact of Brexit on corporate mobility in the form of companies incorporated in the United Kingdom making use of as cross-border mergers, conversions, divisions or seat transfers of SEs (hereinafter also ‘cross-border transactions’) in order to exit the United Kingdom towards Member...
