Isobel Barry

Carpmaels & Ransford LLP are most popular: within Intellectual Property, International Law and Technology topic(s) in European Union with readers working within the Oil & Gas industries The EPO’s latest updates highlight recent Board of Appeal decisions on prior art, claim interpretation, added subject-matter and appeal procedure In June 2026, the EPO published updates to the 11th edition of its Case Law of the Boards of Appeal (‘case law book’). Some notable changes are summarised below.

Strong patent portfolios can create substantial commercial value for biopharma companies. As Isobel Barry, partner at life sciences-focused IP firm Carpmaels & Ransford LLP explains,  opportunities to patent new small molecule, biologics and complex therapeutics arise throughout the go-to-market process, from early-stage research, through formulation development and clinical trials, up to initial regulatory approval and beyond.

The Board heard all parties but did not provide any new insights on the points it considers important for its deliberations Yesterday, 12th March 2025, the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) held the oral proceedings for referral G 1/23. G 1/23 seeks to clarify whether or not a commercially available product must be reproducible to form part of the state of the art within the meaning of Article 54(2) EPC. For an overview of the referred questions, see our previous note.