Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Good news for seed and plant breeding companies ?

Following a report about the European Biotech Directive (EU 98/44), the European Commission has adopted three recommendations, including:
=> it was always the intention (of the Directive) to exclude the patentability of  plants, vegetables, fruits etc. that are obtained by biological processes.

The European Patent Office (EPO) came to the opposite conclusion in how the Directive was to be interpreted - see G2/12 and G2/13.

It is unclear how the EPO will react to this - recommendations of the European Commission are not legally binding on the EPO. However, these arguments will certainly be used in any future invalidation proceedings.

We will be attending the Dutch Life Sciences Conference in Leiden on 24 Nov 2016

Dutch Life Sciences Banner

DeltaPatents has a stand (number 4) at the Dutch Life Sciences Conference in the ECC Leiden (next to the Holiday Inn). It is an event voor biotech, high-tech en med-tech companies to meet each other, find investors and also to learn somethingTanja la CourRomano BeitsmaPete Pollard & Jolanda Pudelko will be present, so please drop by with your questions on patents, trade secrets or trade marks. Or visit us anytime at our office in the Poortgebouw of the Leiden Bio Science Park.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Presentation on "The Strategic Use of Patents" at the EPO in Munich

On 20th October 2016, one of our patent attorneys, Pete Pollard, will give a presentation on The Strategic Use of Patents to 60-80 patent examiners from the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich.
By covering what users of the EPC and PCT patent systems want to accomplish and how they view a granted patent, Pete will try to explain the "strange" behavior frequently witnessed by examiners in their dealings with applicants.
We are always happy to do this - engaging with examiners whenever possible improves mutual understanding, and promotes co-operation when handling future patent cases.
   

DeltaPatents succesfully defends FEI's patent in opposition & appeal - T1123/10

Congratulations to our Opposition and Appeal section for successfully maintaining FEI's European patent EP1394834 following lengthy opposition and appeal proceedings.
The patent was granted in 2007 for a very gentle method of milling a biological sample using sublimation. An opposition was filed later the same year at the European Patent Office (EPO), requesting a complete revocation.
After 3 years, the Opposition Division agreed that the patent was valid. However, the opponent filed appeal T1123/10.
After an oral hearing in July 2016, the Board of Appeal confirmed that the decision was correct and the patent was maintained as granted.
FEI was represented in the written and oral proceedings by Pete Pollard, who has many years of experience in both oppositions and appeals. The other members of our Opposition and Appeal section are Sander van Rijnswou, Tanja la Cour Hoekstra, Karel Riem, Roel van Woudenberg and Jelle Hoekstra. Some of them are also tutors helping EQE candidates pass the C (Opposition) and D (Legal) papers.
P.S. The EPO is currently taking steps to speed up the opposition process to avoid such long delays in the future.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

DeltaPatents at the Dutch RF Conference



As sponsor of the Dutch RF Conference, we would like to welcome you on Wednesday 23 November 2016 at Novio Tech Campus Nijmegen.

The target audience of this event consists of Belgian and Dutch high tech professionals and companies involved in high-end RF development and RF applications, see also http://dutchrf.com

Please contact us if you are interested in a reduction of the registration fee. Send an email to:  mail@deltapatents.com 

Friday, September 16, 2016

Preceyes enables world first robot-assisted eye surgery

The world first robot-assisted operation inside the eye has been performed by surgeons at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital using the PRECEYES Surgical System.

Robert MacLaren, Professor of Ophthalmology, used the PRECEYES Surgical System to initiate a membrane peel, a standard procedure that is performed over 0,5 million times annually. Preceyes’ high-precision robot assisted in lifting the membrane of micrometer thickness, a task that demands the highest level of skill and experience from the surgeon. This is the first patient ever to undergo this procedure with robotic assistance.

Robot-assisted surgery have become commonplace over the last decade. However, never before has a robot been used to operate inside the eye for which even higher levels of control and precision are required. The PRECEYES Surgical System enables to execute the most delicate surgical tasks with an unprecedented level of control and precision. The technology promises to improve the safety and performance of existing ocular surgery as well as to enable new treatments, for example high-precision drug delivery.

Preceyes and the team at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology have worked together to enable this landmark clinical trial. The trial is funded by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre with support from Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital. The clinical trial sponsored by the University of Oxford is assessing the robotic system to perform new gene therapy operations, which are currently under development and require ultra-precise surgery under the fovea. This has resulted in the world first robotic surgery inside the human eye.

Marc de Smet, MD,  Chief Medical Officer of Preceyes said: “This is the culmination of 10 years of work. Our initial aim is to push the limits of eye surgery and facilitate current procedures. The ease with which Professor MacLaren carried out the operation is a major step and a clear validation of our technology and the benefits of robotic assistance.”

Robert MacLaren said: “There is no doubt in my mind that we have just witnessed a vision of eye surgery in the future. We can certainly improve on the current operations, but I very much hope that we can also do new operations that currently we can’t do with the human hand. With a robotic system, we open up a whole new chapter of eye operations that currently cannot be performed. We can now do them with the robot.”
Further information
BBC News
Robot operates inside eye in world first

Thursday, May 12, 2016

DeltaPatents at the Vision, Robotics & Mechatronics exhibition

DeltaPatents has a booth at the Vision, Robotics & Mechatronics exhibition in Veldhoven on
1 and 2 June 2016. Visit us at our booth 102 and learn how to protect your latest innovations.

At June 1, between 15:50-16:10 mister Alex Hogeweg will give a presentation on 'How to claim a humanoid robot'.

Read more


Wednesday, May 11, 2016

We have a booth at the Internet of Things event in Eindhoven on 7-8 June 2016


On June 7-8, 2016, the 5th edition of the Internet of Things Event will take place at High Tech Campus Eindhoven, in The Netherlands.

Visit us at booth  number 2 to find out how to better protect your latest innovations. Nico Cordes of Deltapatents will give a presentation about “Patenting Software – Problems & Pitfalls in Europe and US”.



Visit to exhibition is free: http://iotevent.eu/register/

 

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Come and test your knowledge at the DTW Quiz Night XL - 26 May

On 26th May, the fifth edition of Quiz Night XL will be held at the Klokgebouw, Strijp-S in Eindhoven. Not only is DeltaPatents one of the sponsors, but we will also be competing with 3 teams.
The questions deal all aspects of Science & Technology, so register your team now. Individuals can also register. It costs just 10 EUR per person, and there are a lot of prizes that can be won. But you can also just compete for fun - there is plenty of music and entertainment, and the venue is open until 01:30. They have made a teaser film.


The event is organised as part of Dutch Technology Week (DTW), which runs from 23-28 May in Eindhoven. Its goal is to promote enthusiasm and pride for technology and thereby strengthen the Dutch high-tech sector.

Friday, March 11, 2016

We have a booth at the HI-ZIE event in Delft on 22 March 2016


Agenda


DeltaPatents has a booth at the HI-ZIE 2016. It is an event giving high-tech entrepreneurs, researchers, teachers and investors from South-Holland (and further away) the chance to meet. Angelique van de VenPete Pollard & Romano Beitsma will be present, so drop by with your question about patents, industrial designs or trademarks. Romano is representing our office in Leiden.

Registratiion for HI-ZIE is free of charge.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Ask us about high-tech patents at the High-Tech Systems Event in Eindhoven (24 March 2016)


We will have a booth at the High-Tech Systems Conference & Exhibition in Eindhoven on 24 March 2016. The conference focusses on high-end system development for markets where smart engineering and technology make a difference. The programme aims at developers, technical managers and decision makers in the advanced mechanical engineering. At the exhibition floor you can meet people and companies that can help you with the development, production and marketing of complex systems. The location is the Van der Valk Hotel, Aalsterweg 22 close to the HTC (High-Tech Campus).


Angelique van de Ven, Pete Pollard & Guido Paola will be attending. If you have any questions about patent, industrial design or trademark protection, feel free to visit us at stand nr. 26.

Registration is free if you do it before 22 March. See you there!

Friday, January 29, 2016

TUSExpo 2016 - 2 to 4 of February in The Hague

Next week is the European Unmanned Systems trade show & conference in The Hague.

Pete Pollard and Alex Hogeweg will be visiting from DeltaPatents on Wednesday & Thursday.

Visiting the exhibition is free - you can register here

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