Taking a new approach to European patent law

It is frequently the case that the decisions and approaches of other national courts are important for European patent lawyers and attorneys of all jurisdictions when submitting arguments in their national courts.

A new book, A Practitioner's Guide to European Patent Law, is intended to provide a guide to these patent practitioners acting in the national European courts. The book also looks to the future, by addressing all the areas of patent law for which the proposed Unified Patent Court will need to establish a common approach.

Written by Paul England, with contributions from Judith Krens, Sara Burghart (Sandoz) and François Pochart (August Debouzy), A Practitioner's Guide to European Patent Law is a comprehensive and practical guide to substantive European patent law, which highlights the areas of consistency and difference between the most influential European patent law jurisdictions: the European Patent Office, England & Wales, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Uniquely, the book addresses European patent law by subject matter area, assessing the key national and EPO approaches together rather than in nation-by-nation chapters. It also provides an outline in each chapter of the common ground between the national approaches, as a guide for the possible application of European patent law in the UPC, when the time comes.

A Practitioner's Guide to European Patent Law was published by Hart Publishing on 17 October 2019.