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back to article Patent litigation in Europe will look very different in 5 years' time – expert

Patent litigation in Europe in five years will look very different from now owing to major reforms to the patent framework and a new wave of technology relevant to wearables and the "internet of things". It is likely that more companies will choose to settle patent disputes through arbitration. At the same time, we can expect …

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  1. Whitter
    Meh

    ...new wave of technology relevant to wearables ...

    Hopefully such new inventions will be more than process X with prior-art "but this time on a textile!".

    The "inventive step" requirement seems to have gone AWOL for the last decade or two.

    9 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ...new wave of technology relevant to wearables ...

      I think you will be disappointed, after all didn't a very well known US company patent that approach for smartphones with such broad descriptions that everything will be covered.

      3 0 Reply
    2. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: ...new wave of technology relevant to wearables ...

      It's getting so a person just can't risk wearing pants anymore.

      2 0 Reply
  2. Gene Cash Silver badge

    if patent wars slow down IoT

    that would be a GOOD thing!

    The bloke running https://twitter.com/internetofshit might not be an El Reg contributor, but he sure sounds like one.

    6 0 Reply
  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    New Courts...

    I don't think they'll stop somr thing like a patenet on rounded corners.

    2 0 Reply
    1. Aqua Marina
      Reply Icon

      Re: New Courts...

      A British court did stop Apple trying to patent round corners. And in a rather unique set of circumstances, the ruling was Europe wide, and put an end to Apple's claim throughout Europe that it owned round corners.

      http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1339.html

      2 0 Reply
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    pharma

    Unlike the loose descriptions involved in software patents, a pharmaceutical active ingredient is precisely defined in terms of its molecular structure.

    When was the last time there was a patent dispute between two companies, as opposed to between nations over adequate protection for pharmaceutical patents?

    2 0 Reply
  5. All names Taken
    Alien

    And what if the UK exits the EU?

    What if the EU boots out the UK?

    Scotland goes UDI (Unofficial Declaration of Independence) and UK (well, England mostly) sends in SAS and 2 Para to secure RN nuclear sites in UDI Scotland?

    Huh? Huh?

    Besides UK (well England really) is much well on t'royd t'Duchy of Londres state with predictably landed gentry getting richer at expense of working or unworking folk.

    Nothing changes yet everything changes and all stays the same?

    1 0 Reply
  6. aberglas

    Yipes -- unified patent court

    I missed it, the EPO got that through. Disaster.

    Once you have a court that is run by the patent industry (EPO) whose sole job is to hear patent cases you can be assured that there will be many, many more such cases. For starters, they will interpret the clause in the European Patent rules that software is NOT patentable to mean that software IS patentable. Why wouldn't they -- that is just want the EPO has been doing for years.

    There is a long history of the EPO trying to sneak software patents in, and the European Parliament rejecting them. This sneaks them through the back door.

    The author is right that this will change things. It will duplicate the US mess in Europe.

    0 0 Reply

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