On the 16th of April the European Patent Office (EPO) issued a further notice concerning the disruptions due to the COVID-19 outbreak informing the users about the following:
Bulgarian Patent Office extends deadlines due to declared state of emergency
In connection with the Act on Measures and Actions during a State of Emergency /the Act/ (promulgated SG 28 of 24.03.2020, effective 13.03.2020), the Bulgarian patent office issued a notification informing the effect of the Law in the area of IP:
EUIPO extends all deadlines due to COVID-19
On the 16th of March the EUIPO issued the following statement: The Executive Director of the EUIPO authorised the activation of the Office’s business continuity protocol, with the effect that as and from Monday 16 March, all EUIPO staff will work from home. This is done to protect the health and safety of staff, stakeholders and…
DECISION No EX-20-1 of the Executive Director of EUIPO of 14 February 2020 concerning the extension of time limits
The Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (the Office), Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trade mark(1) (EUTMR) and in particular Article 157(4)(a) thereof, pursuant to which the Executive Director of the Office must take all…
Industrial Designs Protocol Signed in Kazakhstan
Earlier this month, the Diplomatic Conference on the Adoption of the Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention (Industrial Designs Protocol) was held in Nur-Sultan, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It was the final stage of the preparatory work of the Eurasian Patent Office and the Contracting States…
Positive political and economic outlook of Bulgaria – report by Expat Capital
Expat Capital is the largest independent asset management company in Bulgaria, offering personalized long-term financial planning strategies. The company is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria.
EPO has revised the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal
The revised Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA) were adopted by the Boards of Appeal Committee of EPO on 4 April 2019 and were unanimously approved by the Administrative Council at its 160th meeting on 26 and 27 June 2019.
New rules on whether or not appeals to proceed in cases which have already been considered twice
According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, appeals in cases which have already been considered twice will be allowed to proceed, wholly or in part, only where they raise an issue that is significant with respect to the unity, consistency or development of EU law.
EPO issues Guidelines for Examination concerning Artificial intelligence and machine learning
For the first time, the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued guidance on the patentability of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. The guidance will become valid on 1 November 2018. According to the Guidelines: Artificial intelligence and machine learning are based on computational models and algorithms for classification, clustering, regression and dimensionality reduction, such…
Draft Withdrawal Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union
On 28.02.2018 was published the Draft Withdrawal Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. Thе Draft Withdrawal Agreement sets out the arrangements for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union…