In recent months, various publishers of international IP publications have announced their annual rankings and awards, and V.O. is pleased with the good results. In June, V.O. was recognized by Managing IP (MIP) as a ‘Tier 1 Patent Prosecution Firm’ and as a ‘Tier 2 Trademark Prosecution Firm’. Moreover, Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) has recently labelled our firm as a ‘recommended firm’ in the Patent Prosecution category. IAM has designated the following V.O. patent attorneys as ‘recommended individuals’: Marco Box, Bettina Hermann, Annemie Jaeken, Leo Jessen, Hajo Kraak, Bernard Ledeboer, Marco Molling, Otto Oudshoorn and Frits Schut.

See also our website.

The introduction of the new European patent system, which consists of the Unitary Patent (UP) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC), has been delayed twice. This happened after constitutional complaints against approval were submitted to the German Constitutional Court in 2017 and in December 2020. On 9 July, the Court published a ruling indicating that the final formal steps for German approval can be completed. Ratification by Germany is expected to take place in 2022.

See also https://www.vo.eu/dossier/up-upc/

On 8 July, the Vattenfall Solar Team, sponsored by V.O., proudly presented their new solar car: Nuna11. A three-wheeled racing car full of innovative technical features. The most striking features are the special position of the third wheel and the inclined solar panel. With Nuna11, the super-motivated team is determined to win the Solar Challenge Morocco in October. The next year, the famous Bridgestone World Solar Challenge will take place. A solar-powered race across Australia, from Darwin to Adelaide, more than 3,000 kilometers south. The Vattenfall Solar Team need to protect their honor, as they have won this race no less than seven times in the past.

The Vattenfall Solar Team's solar car is redesigned and hand-built every two years by a new team of students. In this way, TU Delft students never stop innovating. They work with the latest techniques and materials, and in doing so, they are taking the lead on the passenger cars of the future. Participation in the competitions in Australia and South Africa represents an investment in both their own development and in making mobility more sustainable. As a sponsor of the team, V.O. ensures that IP protection remains ‘top of mind’. This allows the team to maintain better control over their own innovations, and it also makes it easier to access sources of funding. If corona doesn't throw a wrench in the plans, the big countdown to October has begun. We wish the team members good luck and lots of fun!

On 16 July, the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBoA) of the European Patent Office (EPO) gave first indication of the content of the decision in the case G 1/21 concerning video conferencing.

On the EPO website, a press release confirms that mandatory videoconferencing “in a general emergency” does not violate Article 116 the European Patent Convention (EPC). The EBoA will publish the final decision and its full justification in at least a few weeks.

In March 2021, the German company Rohde & Schwarz had submitted to the EBoA the question of whether oral proceedings under Article 116 EPC can be replaced by a video conference without the consent of the parties. Also, several patent law firms questioned, among other things, whether holding all or part of hearings via video conference instead of in person, as the EPO has been doing since the beginning of 2020, could have a negative effect.