Freedom to Operate

Post-Conference Workshop: 10 May 2012
14.00 – 17.15 (refreshment break included)

Analysing Claims in Patents and Patent Applications: Practical and Strategic Insights into EU and US Specific FTO Issues

Workshop leaders:
Joachim Wachenfeld, Partner, Vossius & Partner (Germany)

Henrik Skødt, Ph.D., European Patent Attorney, Partner,
Plougmann & Vingtoft (Denmark)

Ronald Eisenstein, Partner, Co-Leader Patents, Nixon
Peabody (USA)

EU-SPECIFIC ISSUES:

• Examining Infringement Risk in Major EU Jurisdictions
• Scope of Bolar exemption in major European jurisdictions
• Existence and scope of other infringement exemptions
• Bases for, and likelihood of, injunction in major European jurisdictions
• Prior user rights
• Compulsory license regimes
• Claim construction differences: UK, DE, other major EU jurisdictions
• Non-literal infringement under EU law
• Damages calculations in major European jurisdictions

Clarifying Validity Issues Though Analysis of EPO Cases

• The pros and cons of trying to invalidate European patents through central opposition proceedings vs. national revocation actions
• In the case where the EPO found the patent valid (Atorvastatin case)
• In the case where the EPO has found the patent invalid (in the first instance – Esomeprazole case)
• Special advantages in the EPO opposition proceedings (extension of subject-matter – Yasmin (drospirenone/ethinylestradiol) case)
• The role of party-appointed experts in national proceedings vs. opposition proceedings

US-SPECIFIC ISSUES:

• Clarifying Post Issuance Procedures
  - Post-Grant Review
  - Inter-partes Proceeding
  - Interferences
• The Effects of Bilski, Prometheus, Myriad and Classen on Method Claims
  Mayo Collaborative Services. v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. (at U.S. Supreme Court)
  Association for Molecular Pathology v. USPTO (ACLU v. Myriad – Certiorari requested from U.S. Supreme Court)
  Classen Immunotherapies, Inc. v. Biogen IDEC (awaiting certiorari petition)
  - Is it patent eligible?
  - Can the claims be saved by a reissue?
  - Does the claim cover a natural phenomenon?
  - How do you deal with these cases?
• The Effects of Myriad on Claims to Isolated and/or Purified Compositions
  - Nucleic acids
  - Proteins
  - Antibodies
  - Cells
• Enforcing Claims that Involve Multiple Parties –
  the McKesson Problem
  McKesson Technologies, Inc. v Epic Systems, Corp
• Understanding How Safe Harbor Under 35 USC §271 (e) (1) Avoids Infringement

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