Enforcement and Validity
Almost all attributes of a European patent in a Contracting State, i.e. ownership, validity, and infringement, are determined independently under respective national law, except for the opposition procedure, limitation procedure, and revocation procedure as discussed above. Though the EPC imposes some common limits, the EPC expressly adopts national law for interpretation of all substantive attributes of a European patent in a Contracting State, with a few exceptions. Thus, almost all post-grant proceedings - including renewal, revocation proceedings (when initiated by somebody else than the proprietor), and infringement enforcement are determined under national law.
EPO Boards of Appeal decisions are not precedential at all upon national courts, which have exclusive jurisdiction on validity and infringement after a European patent has been granted (except during the 9 month opposition period, which can only relate to validity). However, national courts will tend to take note, and may find 'persuasive', decisions of the EPO Boards, though they can disagree with them.
Read more about this topic: European Patent Convention
Famous quotes containing the word validity:
“There are ... two minimum conditions necessary and sufficient for the existence of a legal system. On the one hand those rules of behavior which are valid according to the system’s ultimate criteria of validity must be generally obeyed, and on the other hand, its rules of recognition specifying the criteria of legal validity and its rules of change and adjudication must be effectively accepted as common public standards of official behavior by its officials.”
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