Two New Papers on the German Patent Modernization Act

1. Judith Dany and Dr. Nicholas Hohn-Hein, LLM published an article titled The Recent Reform of the German Patent Act:  Improvements and Practical Considerations for Patent Disputes, 44 EIPR 377 (2022).  Here is the abstract:

 

            This article sheds light on important aspects of the latest reform of the German Patent Act in 2021. It discusses the practical implications for pending and future patent litigation in Germany as regards the synchronisation of infringement and invalidity proceedings, the principle of proportionality and trade secret protection.

2.  Mary-Rose McGuire published an article titled Zweites Patentrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz – Offene (prozessuale) Fragen (“Second Patent Modernization Act – Open (Procedural) Questions”) in the February 2022 issue of Mitteilungen der deutschen Patentanwälte (pp.  49-58).  Here is the abstract, in my translation from the German:

 

            Since the Second Patent Modernization Act was revised during the legislative process and-–at the last minute—substantially changed, no time remained to supplement its statement of legislative purpose (Begrundung) and to examine the new law’s procedural implementation.  This essay takes a procedural look at the synchronization of nullity and infringement proceedings, the limitation on claims for injunctive relief, the status of third parties in infringement and criminal proceedings as well as the protection of confidential information in patent disputes.  For it can only be shown in practice, whether the most recent changes really will contribute to the modernization and simplification of patent law.

Also in this issue of Mitteil. is an article at pp. 58-66) by Igor Nikolic titled Lizenzverhandlungsgruppen für SEP -Kollusives Zusammenwirken von Tecnologiekäufern:  Risiken und angemessene Alternativen (“Licensing Negotiation Groups for SEPs – Collusive Collaborations of Technology Implementers:  Risks and Reasonable Alternatives”). 

As mentioned in a couple of other recent posts (see here and here), it doesn't appear that the amendment is having any impact on injunctive relief thus far.