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Friday, January 26, 2007

German Government Initiating Ratification of EPC2000.

The German Government has initiated the national ratification process for the

new European Patent Convention as concluded on the

Diplomatic Conference in 2000, the so-called

EPC2000. Two Bills have been presented to the Second Chamber of the German Parliament ("Bundesrat"):

Draft Bill concerning the Act of November 29, 2000, revising the Convention on the grant of European Patents dated October 05, 1973 ("Entwurf eines Gesetzes zu der Akte vom 29. November 2000 zur Revision des Übereinkommens vom 5. Oktober 1973 über die Erteilung europäischer Patente (Europäisches Patentübereinkommen)"). This Bill comprises the entire Act of the EPC2000 for ratification by the German Parliament.
Draft Bill for implementation of the Act of November 29, 2000, revising the Convention on the grant of European Patents ("Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Umsetzung der Akte vom 29. November 2000 zur Revision des Übereinkommens über die Erteilung europäischer Patente"). This Bill comprises various amendments to German law in accordance with the provisions of the EPC2000.

Section 1 paragraph 1 of the German Patents Act will then be clarified as follows:

"Patents shall be granted for inventions in all fields of technology, provided they are new, involve an inventive step and are susceptible of industrial application. "

This appears to be a clarification in accordance with

TRIPS. Currently, Sect. 5 of the Patents Act stipulates that an invention shall be considered susceptible of industrial application if it can be made or used in any kind of industry, including agriculture. However, methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body are deemed not be inventions which are susceptible of industrial application. This theory of industrial non-applicability will now be abandoned. Instead, Sect. 2a Patents Act will be amended by simply stating that patents shall not be granted for methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body. In both variants, this provision does not apply to products, in particular substances or compositions, for use in any of these methods.

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BLOG@IP::JUR

Patent Attorney Axel H Horns' Blog on Intellectual Property Law.

Friday, January 26, 2007

German Government Initiating Ratification of EPC2000.

VPP