We all look forward to the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court entering into force!

A lot has been said about it during the last couple of months (and years, if you think about it). Last Monday, the president of the UPC communicated that the start of the sunrise period will be postponed with 2 months, to 1 March 2023. This means the actual entry into force of UP and UPC will be 1 June 2023.

The sunrise period is the 3 month period before the entry into force of let's say, the "Unitary package".
During this period, applicants have the chance to delay the grant of their European Patent. But most important is the opportunity for proprietors to opt-out: this means that, as from day one (1 June 2023), their patent does not fall under the jurisdiction of the newly established Unified Patent Court.

Please contact your patent expert for more information on Unitary Patent protection, on the sunrise period and the opportunity to opt-out.

The office in Boortmeerbeek, centrally located between Leuven and Mechelen, has moved towards the center of the township. The office is now located in a recently renovated historical building on the malt site.

The malt site, originally built soon after World War II, used to be the largest malting plant in Europe. The site was subject to a municipal implementation plan in 2009, resulting in (social) housing, commercial spaces and green squares for recreation.

The DenK iP Mechelen office is housed on the first floor of the silo tower. This easily recognizable building has a height of no less than 32 meters and has a modernist industrial architectural style that was preserved during renovations. The modern interior is combined with historical industrial remains, like concrete funnels and high sealings.

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"The Design team (IDLab UGent - imec) has been working with DenK iP for more than 10 years on tens of patent applications in the field of advanced electronics, signal processing and communication systems. This collaboration always went very smooth, also when the available time was short. Throughout the whole process we benefited from DenK iP's strong background on engineering sciences leading to strong patent applications and successful argumentation with the patent offices. In this way we obtained a very high success rate on granted patents and an extensive IP portfolio supporting our many collaborations with leading industry partners worldwide."

Before one can carry the title “Patent attorney”, he or she has to pass exams.

If one wants to become a European patent attorney, in first instance one must pass the hurdle of a pre-examination, a kind of entrance to the “real” examination, and then in second instance must pass the so-called EQE, the European Qualification Examination. Established in 1979, the EQE is widely regarded as one of the most demanding professional examinations.

The EQE is designed – as the European Patent Office (EPO) state it themselves – to establish whether the candidate has the requisite aptitude and knowledge to represent applicants before the EPO.

Candidates need to be particularly conversant with European patent law, with the PCT (international patent applications), with the Paris Convention (priority), and with certain national laws in so far as they apply to European patent applications and European patents.

The EQE consists of four modules, respectively assessing the candidate’s ability to draft patent applications, to reply to official letters in which prior art is cited, to draft a notice of opposition, and to answer legal questions and draft legal assessments.

The pass rate for the EQE 2022 was just below 60%, and Bendix was one of them. Yes! You can call him “Mr Patent Attorney” from now on. But he will most probably equally talk to you if you just say Bendix…