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Background: Acne is one of the most infectious diseases related to human skin. This disease of acne is of higher prevalence in adults. The main causative organism involved in the acne vulgaris is Propionibacterium acne, which leads to sebum production and follicular hyperkeratinization. Methods: The scientific data shows inflammatory mediators of genetic factors, stress, physiological factor, androgens and hormonal changes; all these factors play a major part in the pathophysiology of acne. Several drugs are currently available for the treatment of Acne like bactericidal, antibiotic and several others which are directly or indirectly involved in the eradication of acne. Results: Nanocarrier systems including liposomes, niosomes, microsponges, nano-emulsion and micro-emulsion, microspheres and solid lipid nanoparticles have emerged as a successful treatment for acne. In this article, the authors have laid special emphasis on these nanocarriers and the study of various patents based on novel technologies in this field. The entrapment of the anti-acne drug molecule into a particular nanocarrier system has been shown to enhance patient compliance and reduction in side-effects. Conclusion: The present review article provides an overview of the mechanism, advantages, drawbacks and various patents associated with the nanocarrier systems involved in acne treatment. Some state of the art patented and novel technologies such as stem cell secretion technology, sol-gel technology incorporating microcapsules and ultrasound delivery of nanoparticles for acne treatment, are also briefly discussed. The patent study on these nanocarriers was done through the worldwide database of the United States patent office, European patent office and several other official patent information websites.

Introduction Berberine (BBR), as one of the outstanding representatives of isoquinoline alkaloids, has been used as an antibacterial drug for a long time in China since ancient times. Currently, a large number of studies have been reported that berberine has a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities, such as anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, anti-obesity, and the like. Areas covered This review systematically discussed important patents on berberine and berberine derivatives in terms of pharmacological activity between 2016 and 2020. These patents were mainly searched through the European Patent Office database and Web of Science. These berberine patents (~41) cover a wide range of applications, mainly including antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-metabolic disorder, and other newly reported pharmacological activities. Expert opinion Berberine is an important lead compound with great potential for optimization in drug development. However, there is a lack of research related to the biomolecular targets of BBR, which directly restricts the development of berberine in the pharmaceutical field. The problems involved with poor bioavailability and cytotoxicity are also worth considering in the development of berberine-based drugs. Accordingly, the increasing number of patents involving biomolecular targets in BBR's patent applications will be published as its related pharmacological mechanisms are further deciphered.

Background: Conventional treatments of arthritis use toxic and poorly tolerated drugs. Therefore, natural products are an alternative because they are important sources of bioactive substances with therapeutic potential. Objective: To perform synthesis of patent applications associated with the use of natural products in the technological development of the invention for use in treating arthritis. Methods: The search for patents was conducted using the following databases of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), European Patent Office (EPO, Espacenet), United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) and National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI) using as keywords - arthritis, treatment and the International Patent Classification (IPC) A61K36 / 00. Results: A total of 617 patents related to the subject were registered in the period available in patents databases during the study period from the years 2005 to 2017, of which 44 were analyzed based on the established inclusion criteria. The most important countries for protecting these inventions were China, followed by the United States of America, the Republic of Korea and Japan. As for the typology of depositors, that were identified by Educational Institutions and Public Institutes of Research (IEIPP) and Companies and Private Research Institutes (EIPP). Conclusion: The analysis of patents made it possible to characterize the natural products used in the treatment of arthritis, with emphasis on botanical extracts (71%), as a single component, as well as in association with other botanical extracts, isolated compounds and minerals.

Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) systems have become vastly more sophisticated since the term was first used in the 1950s. Through the advent of machine learning and artificial neural networks, computers utilizing AI technology have become so advanced that a team of attorneys in the United Kingdom claim that their AI machine, DABUS, actually created patentable inventions. The team went so far as to file patent applications with the European Patent Office,the UK Intellectual Property Office, and the US Patent and Trademark Office. All applications named DABUS as the inventor. This sparked a heated debate within academic and legal communities that centered around whether AI can be an inventor, and, if so, what this might mean for the current state of patent law. This paper discusses the purposes of patent law through a brief look at its history, in an effort to highlight why patent law as it stands may no longer be one- size-fits-all. It considers the evolution of AI systems to explain how one might determine that a machine could be “creative” and therefore justifiably named as inventor. It surveys popular opinions and organizes them on a spectrum ranging from those who believe that patent law should stay as it is and that AI cannot be an inventor, to those who, more dramatically, advocate for the abolition of patent protection for AI inventions. This paper suggests that legislators be proactive in traversing this technological minefield rather than reactive, as technology will continue to outpace, and trample, law if left to its own machinations.

This paper empirically examines coincidences between “rejection citations” (i.e., those cited as grounds for rejections) added by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and “X/Y patent citations,” which are also added as grounds for rejections at the European Patent Office (EPO) within the same patent family, based on more than forty thousand families of triadic application sample. We consider the release timing of European search reports and the timing of rejection actions by the USPTO for the same family of patent applications. We find that the frequency of rejection (X/Y-equivalent) citation coincidences between the USPTO and the EPO according to family-to-family citation criteria increases after the release of search reports by the EPO. It suggests that the US examiners capture spillovers of search efforts from the EPO, namely, the USPTO examiners rely on prior art information collected and disclosed by the EPO. The results also reveal that International Search Reports (ISRs) prepared for Patent Corporation Treaty (PCT) applications, as well as applicant-submitted citations, play important roles for the convergence of rejection citations between the two patent offices. We furthermore find that the US examiners are less likely to add the same patent citations as the EPO examiners when rejections are persistently repeated at the USPTO. The methodology in this paper introduces the novel use of patent examiner citations to compare examiners’ citing behavior across jurisdictions.

We empirically assess international corporate tax avoidance by strategic location of innovative output. The analysis draws on the universe of patent applications to the European Patent Office from 1990 to 2006 linked with data on multinational entities (MNEs) in Europe. Four findings emerge: first, patent holdings are distorted toward low-tax countries. Second, patent location in low-tax countries is correlated with a geographic separation of research and development output and input. Third, MNEs systematically sort high-value (low-value) patents to low-tax (high-tax) countries. Fourth, the propensity to locate patent ownership in low-tax countries is significantly decreased if controlled foreign company rules are enacted in the MNE’s parent country. The tightening of transfer pricing legislation, in turn, exerts a weak negative effect on the location of patent ownership only.

The search for new nanostructured materials that have an antimicrobial activity and which may arise as an alternative in biotechnological applications has aroused great interest by the scientific community. The use of natural resources in the development of these materials becomes interesting not only because of their availability and low cost, but also because they are materials with low or no toxicity and properties of interest, such as palygorskite clay ( PAL), also called atapulgite. Thus, a new applicability is proposed with the use of this natural resource for the development of biotechnological products, such as the development of nanocomposites constituted by the incorporation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in PAL for its use as bactericidal agent. The objective of the research was to carry out a prospective study on the basis of periodicals of Scopus, Web of Science and Scielo, as well as in the patent banks of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), European Patent Office (Espacenet) and United States Patent and Trademark Offic (USPTO), from 2006 to 02/2017. From the results of articles and patents, a considerable number of articles and patents were found using the word "Palygorskite" or "Attapulgite". However, when the "Palygorskite or Attapulgite AND silver nanoparticle AND antimicrobial" and "Palygorskite or Attapulgite AND silver nanoparticle AND bactericidal" combinations were used, no article or patent has been found to date. Thus, the development of PAL / AgNPs nanocomposites for biotechnological applications can be very promising and innovative for the characteristics presented by both materials. Keywords: Nanocomposites; Palygorskite; Attapulgite; Silver of nanoparticles; Bactericidal agent.

Background and study aims Capsule endoscopy (CE) is the preferred method for small bowel (SB) exploration. Its diagnostic yield can be reduced by poor mucosal visualization. We aimed to evaluate three electronic parameters – colorimetry, abundance of bubbles, and brightness – to assess the adequacy of mucosal visualization of SB-CE images. Patients and methods Six-hundred still images were randomly extracted from 30 complete and normal SB-CEs. Three experts independently evaluated these images according to a 10-point assessment grid. Any frame with a mean score above seven was considered adequately cleansed. Each image was analyzed electronically according to the three preset parameters, individually and then combined, with the experts' score as reference. A random forests methodology was used for machine learning and testing. Results The combination of the three electronic parameters achieved better discrimination of adequately from inadequately cleansed frames as compared to each individual parameter taken separately (sensitivity 90.0 % [95 %C. I. 84.1 – 95.9], specificity 87.7 % [95 %C. I. 81.3 – 94.2]). Conclusion This multi-criterion score constitutes a comprehensive, reproducible, reliable, automated and rapid cleansing score for SB-CE frames. A patent is pending at the European patent office.

Orodispersible film (ODF) formulations are promising and progressive drug delivery systems that are widely accepted by subjects across all the age groups. They are traditionally fabricated using the most popular yet conventional method called solvent casting method. The most modern and evolving method is based on printing technologies and such printed products are generally termed as printed orodispersible films (POFs). This modern technology is well suited to fabricate ODFs across different settings (laboratory or industrial) in general and in a pharmacy setting in particular. The present review provides an overview of various printing methods employed in fabricating POFs. Particularly, it provides insight about preparing POFs using inkjet, flexographic, and three-dimensional printing (3DP) or additive manufacturing techniques like filament deposition modeling, hot-melt ram extrusion 3DP, and semisolid extrusion 3DP methods. Additionally, the review is focused on patenting trends in POFs using ESPACENET, a European Patent Office search database. Finally, the review captures future market potential of 3DP in general and ODFs market potential in particular.

Background Extremophilic microorganisms from a wide variety of extreme natural environments have been researched, and many biotechnological applications have been carried out, due to their capacity to produce biomolecules resistant to extreme conditions, such as fibrinolytic proteases. The search for new fibrinolytic enzymes is important in the development of new therapies against cardiovascular diseases. Objective This article aimed to evaluate the patents filed about protease with fibrinolytic activity produced by extremophilic microorganisms whose use is aimed at the development of new drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Methods The prospecting was carried out using data on deposits and patent concessions made available on the technological bases: European Patent Office (EPO), United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial - Brazil (INPI), The LENS and Patent Inspiration. The International Patent Classification and subclasses and groups for each document were also evaluated. Results Although 382 patents were selected using terms related to extreme environments, such as "thermophile" and "acidophiles", few were related to clinical use and were mainly performed using Bacillus subtilis and Streptomyces megasporus strains. A highlight of nattokinase was produced by Bacillus subtilis GDN and actinokinase by Streptomyces megasporus SD5. Conclusion The low number of patents on enzymes with this profile (extreme environments) revealed a little-explored field, promising in the development of new microbial thrombolytic drugs, such as fibrinolytic enzymes with less adverse effects.

Background: Alpha-amylases are enzymes capable of degrading polysaccharides, such as starch and glycogen. Found in various organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, these enzymes have great biotechnological potential due to their insertion in several industrial sectors ranging from food to biofuels. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze patents deposited in intellectual property databases on alpha-amylases in the fields of food, beverages, detergents, animal feeds, biofuels, pharmaceuticals and textiles, with the search period being 5 years. Methods: This study targeted the use of alpha-amylases in various industrial sectors, so searches were carried out on the intellectual property database Espacenet website (European Patent Office - EPO) which contains more than 90 million patents deposited in its database. Results: During the search for patents filed in the last 5 years, 186 were found related to the use of alpha-amylases. These were disturbed as follows: 84 (biofuel), 41 (drinks), 16 (pharmaceuticals), 15 (detergents), 11 (food), 10 (animal feed), 9 (textiles). From the total number of patents found, we selected 6 from each area, except pharmaceutical products, to discuss and provide information on the application of this enzyme. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the sectors of beverages and animal feed have preferences for thermostable alpha-amylases while sectors such as food, biofuels and textiles only regarded the importance of enzymatic efficiency. The detergent sector presented the greatest use of alpha-amylases which had distinct biochemical characteristics as solvent resistance and thermostability. The pharmaceutical sector was the one that presented less patents related to the application of alpha amylases. In addition, this work showed that China is the country with the highest patent registration for the use of alpha-amylases in the analyzed period.

Introduction: This review aims to assess the available technologies, advances, and trends from technological readiness level 4 to level 8 for cancer immunologic therapeutics using the association of OX40 and CPG-ODN, usually known as cancer vaccine.Areas covered: Patent documents and clinic studies referring to the use of CpG-ODN and of OX40 association for cancer therapeutics. Patent data were obtained within the worldwide basis of the European Patent Office (EPO). The 138 patents of 36 patent families found were analyzed focusing on word distribution of technology developers and potential markets, legal status, annual evolution of first priority, technological domains, applicants and co-applicants and detailed analysis of each technology. Two clinical studies are in progress.Expert opinion: Traditional methods in post cancer diagnosis are being replaced by immunological association therapies. It is expected that the development of cancer vaccines will expand the scope of cancer-specific immunotherapy, especially if associated with alternative systems for expression and delivery with future potential. It is expected that genetic and controlled and/or specific nano delivery are improved. Furthermore, these new developments will likely address the problem of long-term treatments, reducing cancer mortality and reducing patient numbers worldwide.

The digital interconnection of the machines through the Internet is generating the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). These "smart machines" are already transforming a wide variety of sectors, from manufacturing and agriculture to health and transport. This study aims to visualize and analyze the flows of technological knowledge leading to inventions that lead to industrial digitization with great impact on the value chain. Through the study of patents, we can observe how the technological advances characteristic of Industry 4.0 are contributing to generate new inventions in the Machine Tool sector. The sample, extracted from the European Patent Office's (EPO) global patent database, is comprised of all patent applications related to the 4IR and Machine Tool in the period 1990-2016. The study shows how in recent years the influence of 4IR on Machine Tools has grown exponentially, with industry 4.0 technologies related to hardware and data analysis and interpretation being the most cited in Machine Tool patents. American companies are the main contributors to the digitalization of the sector, followed closely by European companies, mainly German, and in the case of Chinese companies, the data indicate that their presence will increase considerably in the coming years. Keywords: Machine tool; Fourth Industrial Revolution; Industry 4.0; Patents; Technological knowledge flows

This paper explores the role of spatial spillovers in the innovation processes across 245 NUTS 2 European Union (EU) regions for the 2008–2012 period. The patent applications at the European Patent Office were chosen as a proxy for innovative activity. In the first step of the empirical analysis, the spatial pattern examination of the innovative activity based on the selected global and local indicators for spatial association confirmed the presence of a spatial dependence process in the distribution of innovative activity. Next, we attempted to model the behaviour of innovative activity at the EU regional level on the basis of extended regional knowledge production model. Spatial econometric analysis indicated the relevance of internal innovation inputs (R&D expenditure and human resources in science and technology) and we also found out that, the production of knowledge by EU regions seems to be also affected by spatial spillovers due to innovative activity performed in other regions.

Trends in medical technology patents provide an objective comparison of research and development between countries and over time. An analysis of these trends can benchmark innovation within Ireland in a worldwide context. By identifying and examining leading countries, domestic educational, infrastructural, regulatory and fiscal planning may be optimised. Published data filing and granting reports from the two major patent offices (United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and European Patent Office (EPO)) were analysed. USPTO statistics demonstrated an 83.1% decrease in the overall number of medical device patents filed over the 10-year period, from 2005 (n = 1092) to 2015 (n = 185). Conversely, there was a 166% increase in the number of medical device patents granted over the same period. EPO applications in the field of medical technology represented the single largest industry category. The proportion of patents granted of Irish origin have increased from 0.7 (n = 22) to 0.9% (n = 73) over 10 years. Switzerland ranks first for medical device patents granted per head of population by the EPO, with Ireland ranking 5th. Ireland’s medical device patents have increased dramatically per head of population, from 4.1 per million in 2012, to 15.3 in 2016. Israel has the highest number of USPTO patents granted per head of population, with Ireland ranking 5th. Ireland demonstrates high levels of medical technology patent filing per head of population, reflecting the importance of this industry. However, both Switzerland and Israel demonstrate dominance amongst smaller nations, and serving as benchmarks for national planning.

Mapping technologies into industries is frequently required in empirical innovation studies, but many concordances only provide coarse mappings. We develop a novel concordance between industries and technologies making use of linked inventor-employee data for a large sample of German patents filed at the European Patent Office between 1999 and 2011. Inventors listed on these patents are matched and disambiguated with German social security records. Employment data recorded in this database include detailed industry codes describing the industrial activities of the inventors’ establishments. These linked microdata allow us to identify the precise industrial origin of inventions, combine them with technology classifications from the inventors’ patents and to generate novel concordance tables. We evaluate our approach by comparing the concordances with existing work. Moreover, in an empirical application, we find that patent based indicators represent valid proxies for the innovation performance of industries and thus help to measure innovation in the absence of other survey based indicators. Service sector innovation activities, however, appear to be barely represented by the patenting activities of inventors and establishments.

We take a look back at the conferences we attended in 2018. As every year, we try to cover a mix of small and large, academic and industry conferences, to get the pulse of our patent information industry, but also to make sure that developments in computer-based information processing are on our radar. The buzz around anything “AI” that we observed last year continues strongly. We report here on three conferences: the European Conference on Information Retrieval, Patent Information User Group conference, and the European Patent Office Patent Information Conference.

Having in mind that on the territory of the Republic of Serbia patent protection of domestic inventions has been at the level of 20% of the total number of patents granted by the European Patent Office to inventors from Europe in the past twenty years in the area of seismic reliability of structures and landslide remediation, this work complements research on the continuity in the application of exceptional technical solutions of Serbian scientists in the field of civil engineering, that has been started with the work with title: Common characteristics of main contributions of Roger Boscovich, Milutin Milankovic and Branko Žeželj to the development of civil engineering, 2017. Bearing in mind that Žeželj has been active in patent protection of his numerous inventions, during second half of the 20th century, this paper presents systematic overview of patented inventions created in 21st century by Serbian scientists and inventors in the field of seismic safety of structures and landslide remediation, as well as examples of their specific application.

Plants are widely used to treat diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Every year, thousands of people die from HIV/AIDS, which reinforces the urgent need for innovative health technologies, including new medicines. Patents may be consulted in free databases, such as Espacenet of the European Patent Office. These documents are classified according to the International Patent Classification (IPC) of the World Intellectual Property Organization. The classification A61K36/00 refers to Medicinal preparations of undetermined constitution containing material from algae, lichens, fungi or plants, or derivatives thereof. The study aim was to carry out an initial review of patent applications of medicinal preparations/phytochemicals used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS under the classification IPC-A61K36/00. Patents relevant to IPC-A61K36/00 containing the keyword “HIV” in the title or abstract were browsed in Espacenet to identify patent applications over ten years between 2007 and 2017. Inclusion criteria: patent applications describing pharmaceutical preparations/phytochemicals used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Exclusion criteria included repeated applications. In total, 33 results were retrieved: 12 (36.4 %) were excluded and 21 (63.6 %) were selected and analyzed. Selected patents (n = 21) were classified as follows: from a single bioactive compound/phytochemical (n = 7), containing multiple bioactive compounds/phytochemicals (n = 10) and/or preparations for co-administration with other HIV treatments or for treating HIV/AIDS-related health problems (n = 4). Despite the few identified patents on this topic, bioactive compounds may be useful in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Additional research is recommended.

Several studies have revealed that R&D funds, university-level characteristics and the internal university environment determine the number of patents applied for by universities. However, only a few papers have analysed the effect of the demand side on the production of patents. This study looks into the extent to which patents generated by European universities are related to the regional specialization of host regions. Drawing on a sample of 3330 university-owned patents from the European Patent Office, covering the period 2001–2004, and several count models, our results suggest that the regional economic specialization significantly affects the production of university patents in high-technology sectors. We did not find any significant relationship between the regional specialization and the production of medium and low university-patented technologies.

This article deals with the strategies that Italian innovative manufacturing companies have deployed in recent years. Italy has, in fact, been hit particularly severely by the international crisis, which has induced a sharp decline in employment and a narrowing of the productive base. That said, we know very little about the strategies used by Italian entrepreneurs to cope with the economic downturn, especially the more innovative ones. To address this topic, the author has used a sample of over 400 Italian companies with European patents in the sectors of mechanical engineering and high technology (European Patent Office (EPO) companies), which were investigated by means of a panel survey: a longitudinal study carried out on the same companies at different times (2010 and 2012). The analysis conducted in this article has two main goals: (1) to describe the socio-economic and territorial characteristics of EPO companies and their strategies in the years of the crisis and (2) to examine the influen...

Nanoscience is an interdisciplinary field in which science, in terms of publications, and technology, in terms of inventions, are closely related. Sweden represents an interesting setting to examine how they are related because a high proportion of the total Swedish academic patents can be classified as nanoscience. Combining bibliometric data from the Web of Science, patent data from European Patent Office and data from Swedish universities, this article identifies all authors and all inventors listed on patents who work at universities in Sweden within nanotechnology. The main question we address is whether prominent academic scientists in terms of scientific publications are also the ones who become academic inventors. The article uses a semi-parametric technique, namely a conditional regression in a matched sample, to isolate the effect of publishing on patenting. One novelty of this article is that it applies a conditional logistic regression in matched pairs of academics, to isolate the relationship between patenting and publishing in nanoscience. The empirical results show that academics who both publish and patent have, on average, more publications as well as more citations. Furthermore, having a higher number of citations can increase the probability of having a patent. Interdisciplinarity is also positively correlated with patenting. Thus, by isolating the effects of publishing on patenting, this article demonstrates that scientific prominence, indicated both by the number of articles and citations, positively impacts the propensity to take patents.

Technology advances have usually brought wealth and health to society, while also raising ethical and policy issues. Technology and patents are linked to each other in that patents have been conceived also as a tool for rewarding and motivating the inventor’s endeavors. Patents have been subject to critical views, especially in the era of software where the innovation might be based on non-technological improvements, sometimes arising from new business models, social behavior or trends. For patents to support innovation in its beneficial contribution to society and avoid abuse, a high-quality patent system should be ensured. Many people believe that this requires in the first place to exclude from patent protection those inventions that are purely non-technical. In this paper, the authors analyze the legal situation at the European Patent Office (EPO), considered as setting amongst the worldwide strictest standards in terms of software patentability, and wherein patents are granted only to technology advances. Within this context, the case of software simulators is discussed, since this is directly linked to intangible software inventions and since it is the subject of a case on a point of law pending before the EPO highest instance, such that its outcome may impact patentability of modern software technologies. In conclusion, the authors argue in favor of maintaining the present EPO practice on simulators, as this is seen as a fair balance in Europe between patent protection for intangible inventions based on technology while excluding from patent protection those inventions that are non-technical arrangements.

In order to increase the possibility of patent entitled of artificial intelligence related inventions at the European Patent Office, applications should focus on what technical problems the invention are solving or identify the specific technical improvements. From the perspective of patent analysis, European artificial intelligence technology is leading the world and in this field, the European Patent Office is one of the most important intellectual property offices, and its legislation and practice of patent eligibility examination for artificial intelligence related Inventions have an important impact on the world. the European Patent Office takes the position in the Guidelines that artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are based on mathematical methods and are therefore generally excluded from patent eligibility unless linked to a technical application. The updated Guidelines did not make substantial changes to the "technical " requirements of the patent eligible subject, but only further clarified and refined it.

Portuguese Abstract: O texto analisa o fenomeno das invencoes geradas por sistemas de inteligencia artificial (IA), sem que um inventor humano possa ser identificado, e a possibilidade de conferir patentes para tais invencoes. Toma-se, como ponto de partida, a decisao do Escritorio Europeu de Patentes em relacao as invencoes geradas por Dabus, um sistema de IA. Identifica-se o conceito de inventor no Brasil, Reino Unido e Estados Unidos e, em seguida, avaliam-se argumentos contrarios e favoraveis ao reconhecimento da qualidade de inventor as maquinas. O topico final analisa se a concessao de patentes a invencoes geradas por sistemas de IA e necessaria como um incentivo para a pesquisa e o desenvolvimento, sob a otica da Analise Economica do Direito. Conclui-se que, seja qual for o caminho trilhado – alteracao das legislacoes de propriedade intelectual para este tipo de invencao, ausencia de protecao patentaria ou uma terceira hipotese –, e crucial que haja dialogos em âmbito internacional, para uma compreensao e tratamento uniforme do tema. English Abstract: The text analyzes the phenomenon of inventions generated by artificial intelligence (AI) systems, under circumstances in which no human author or inventor can be identified, and the possibility of granting patents for such inventions. It is used, as a starting point, the decision of the European Patent Office regarding the inventions generated by Dabus, an AI system. The article identifies the concept of inventor in Brazil, in the United Kingdom and in the United States and analyses the arguments against and in favor of recognizing the machine as the inventor. The final topic analyses whether granting patents to inventions generated by AI systems is necessary as an incentive for research and development, from the perspective of the Law & Economics. It is concluded that, whatever path is taken - amendment of intellectual property laws, absence of patent protection or a third hypothesis -, dialogues at the international level are crucial to produce a uniform approach of the issue.

Search Matters is an annual event which is organised by multiple directorates in the European Patent Office. Search Matters 2018 event was the 30th in series [ 1 ] and took place fully-booked in the EPO premises in Rijswijk (close to The Hague, NL) from April 23rd to 25th. Since 2005, the location of Search Matters has been alternating between the EPO premises in Rijswijk and Munich (DE). Search Matters is targeted at patent search professionals. The main objective of the conference is to provide an accurate, in-depth understanding of the way the EPO examining staff searches when a patent application arrives on their desk, to explain their working methods, and to present the latest developments on the tools they have at their disposal. The conference is mainly attended by patent search professionals or other IP professionals such as patent attorneys, innovation and technology transfer managers from industry or universities, but also by scientists and owners of SMEs. 149 participants were registered this year. The EPO organizes another yearly conference in the area of patent information (EPOPIC) in one of the EPC countries. EPOPIC 2018 is being held in Brussels from November 12th to 14th. Both Search Matters and EPOPIC are warmly recommended, not only for patent specialists but also for anybody dealing with innovation, business trends, the current technology landscape, new developments and emerging technologies. Search Matters, aptly named because search does matter …!

Background: The use of enzymes in various industrial processes has become increasingly frequent. When added to productive processes, it can accelerate reactions and generate a number of new products. The solid state fermentation (SSF), among other applications, has been employed also to obtain enzymes. Objective: The purpose of this prospection was to map registered patent documents about enzymes production by this type of fermentation in the world, identify the most obtained enzymes with patent documents and compilate information about the world and Brazilian enzyme markets. Methods: The experimental design was carried out by the keyword-driven scope through the advanced search in the Espacenet database European Patent Office (EPO). The keywords selected were solid-state fermentation and the International Patent Classification code, C12N9 (enzymes; proenzymes), for prospecting of interest. Results: In 2012, there was the higher number of registered patents (12). China holds 84% of deposited patents. Among the types of depositors, 54% of the selected patent documents were deposited by universities and institutes, and 44% by companies. 76.5% of the evaluated patents used fungi as enzyme producer. Analyzing the enzymes obtained in the registered patents, it is verified that the majority belongs to the group of carbohydrases with 43%, followed by proteases (25%), which are also the two classes of enzymes most commercialized in the market. Conclusion: China holds the majority of the registered patents but North America gets the largest global enzyme market revenue followed by Europe and Pacific Asia. Carbohydrases were the most commercialized enzymes and with the highest number of patents registered. Among the carbohydrases, cellulases, xylanases and amylases are the most frequent in patent registration while being fungi produced.

Background: Colorant-producing microorganisms are quite common in nature. These biomolecules present many biological activities such as antitumoral, antimicrobial and antioxidant, in addition to the various nuances of color, making them of special technological importance to the industrial sectors. Objective: This study aims to conduct a technological mapping in the patent, at European patent Office (EPO), in order to evaluate the global panorama of the use of microbial colorants. Methods: The experimental design was acquired by the keyword-driven approach through the advanced search in the Espacenet database European Patent Office (EPO). The keywords selected were bacteria or fungi* or yeast or algae or microorganism* but not plant* and pigment* or color* or colorant* or dye* and the International Patent Classification code, C09B61, for prospecting of interest. Results: There has been a linear increase in patents developed in the last 20 years, with Japan as the largest depositor in the area. The companies Dainippon Ink and Chemicals and Ajinomoto, both being Japanese, are the largest depositors with 20% of all patents. Among the microorganisms, the filamentous fungi appeared in the first place with 32% of documents and the fungi of the genus Monascus were the most frequently used. Conclusion: The use of microbial colorants has been growing among industries, mainly in food sectors, due to the growing demand for products of natural origin. Thus, the increase in research and technological development in the area of microbial colorants can become an economically viable and promising strategy for the various industrial sectors.

This chapter looks at the way the European Patent Office has responded to the calls from industry for patent protection for biotechnological inventions through a number of controversial decisions. It also looks at the way the EU has tried to ameliorate the controversy without either jeopardizing the investment in biotechnology or avoiding the concerns of those opposed to such patents through its proposal for a directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions. Developments in biotechnology have raised serious questions about the extent to which, if at all, patent law should protect inventions involving genetic material. One of the most interesting and potentially significant differences between the amendments tabled by the European Parliament and the revised text published by the European Commission in September 1997 is in respect of the need to obtain consent before a patent application can be made.

During the last 15 years the European Patent Office (EPO) has established an internal peer to peer knowledge sharing process. This process is driven by a team of knowledge sharing experts, collated in a team called CKT – Continuous Knowledge Transfer. The process works in a complementary manner to classical and well-elaborated learning and development activities of the international organisation. The article aims at describing the motivation for creating such process, the development of CKT and its structure and tools. The basic components of the process are presented and success factors elaborated.

This article investigates how economic growth paths diverge across Chinese prefectural cities. Based on the conditional convergence hypothesis, the analysis includes inward foreign direct investments and patent applications to the European Patent Office as additional proxies of steady-state income levels and allows the convergence parameter to vary across groups. The results show that within-convergence rates are different across groups, but growth drivers positively affect both intraregional and interregional catching up.

Microalgal biotechnology is an innovative sector in the field of biotechnology and has evolved exponentially in the last 100 years. With the aim of finding out the current situation of the sector and its development, patents on microalgal biotechnology were surveyed in Espacenet, the European Patent Office database. The objective of this study was to identify the main trends in microalgae-related patents in the most commercial genera: Chlorella, Spirulina, Dunaliella, Haematococcus and model organism Chlamydomonas.

A case for revoking Stanford University's European patent 2430454 on time-lapse microscopy was set out in Reproductive BioMedicine Online by Sterckx et al. in 2014, on the grounds that the patent claimed a method of diagnosis that was excluded under a provision of the European Patent Convention. An opposition at the European Patent Office in which this ground was raised has recently concluded with a decision that the patent is not excluded from patentability under European patent law and is to be upheld. An appeal from this decision has been filed, but the possibility of the decision being overturned is, in this author's opinion, very limited.

Composting technology (CT) is a bridge between organic waste and soil carbon pool, which also a critical technology on the sustainable development of agriculture. Although some attempts have been made to address the CT assessment, technical details are not yet available; this brought difficulties in predicting the development directions. Here, patent measurement was used to analyse the structured and unstructured scripts of 11,701 composting technology patents (CTPs) in the Derwent Innovations Index database. It was discovered that the history of CT could be divided into the budding stage (1970–1989), the developing stage (1990–2006) and the expanding stage (2007–2019). Environmental policies are highly related to CT development. China authorised the most CTPs, accounting for 43.89% of the world’s total. The World Intellectual Property Organization and the European Patent Office made a significant contribution to patent flow. The co-words analysis suggested that the technological aim of CT has shifted from waste disposal to organic fertiliser preparation. Cluster analysis sectored CTPs into 42.76% of which focuses on the composting device. Through the mining results and literature reviews, the subject of using mineral in compost, anaerobic fermentation, new microbial strain, straw composting and preparation of high-efficiency organic fertiliser were the potential research directions. This study investigated the history of CT and predicted possible trajectories that could be informative to eliminate repetitive and subsidiary horizontal innovations.

Prior-art search is a critical step towards determining whether a patent can be granted or not. In 2016, an internal project called Search Workflow Modelling (SWM) was launched at the European Patent Office (EPO) for building a search knowledgebase, which contains a set of models that record not only the current situation on how patent examiners deal with prior-art search (i.e. the as-is models), but also their requirements of being able to do a more efficient and effective search (i.e. the to-be models). We use the Fact-based Modelling (FBM) approach for formalizing search ontologies, which cover a common vocabulary, relations between concepts related to search, and constraints applicable to these relations. We use a hybrid modelling approach of Business Process Modelling Notations and Case Management Model and Notations (BPMN/CMMN) to model search work flows. A patent search strategy typically involves at least one FBM model and at least one BPMN/CMMN model. In this paper, we will illustrate 5 types of existing search strategies (including recursive flow patterns and FBM models for future search features), and future search strategies. The SWM empirical studies in this paper are being put into practice in the ongoing projects concerning search tools at the EPO.

Recent migratory shocks call for in-depth, structured studies of both the benefits and drawbacks of these phenomena. Using records from the European Patent Office, this paper documents the influence of Soviet inventors that migrated to Germany following the collapse of the Soviet Union on the patent production of local inventors. The evidence points to an increase in patent production in the technology fields in which the Soviet Union was most active, and a tendency for local inventors who had directly collaborated with their Soviet counterparts to explore new technology domains.

It is crucial that patent offices grant protection only to those inventions that are novel and non-obvious. In 2004, the European Patent Office (EPO) made the unique move to systematically extend its prior art database by including documents shared among members of standard-setting organisations, but not made available to the general audience. This paper investigates the effects of this policy change. We find that it worked thanks to a significant reduction in granting rates rather than reducing the scope of granted patents. Our study demonstrates how a targeted approach can improve the quality of the patent granting process.

This paper addresses the topic of patenting related to the notion of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). Focusing on patents in the field of biotechnology, we assess to what extent current patenting practices of the European Patent Organization, and more specifically of its executive body, the European Patent Office (EPO) align with RRI principles. We first argue for including patenting as a relevant topic in the context of RRI and then provide an operationalisation of RRI principles that functions as an analytic tool in the article. We find that the dimensions of RRI currently do not have a strong position in the EPO. Subsequently, we discuss the potential for improving the alignment of the EPO with RRI principles. We conclude the article with some final reflections on the applicability of RRI to the policies and practices of the European Patent Organization. This work has been funded by the Research Council of Norway’s ELSA program, grant no 220609/ O70.

We explore the impact of migrant inventors on patent quality in Europe and the United States between 1990 and 2010. Drawing on a large sample of patent applications filed at the European Patent Office with a corresponding Patent Cooperation Treaty extension, we select inventor teams whose members reside in the countries of interest, but whose nationality may vary. In keeping with the literature, we find that migrant inventors are associated with higher quality patents via increased diversity at the team level, in addition to increased diversity at both the company and local level. This positive relationship with diversity persists after conditioning for the presence of migrants in the team, which is suggestive of cultural, and not merely functional, diversity.

Many agree that Teff originated in the highlands of Ethiopia. Teff is a gluten free grain that has a growing market in Europe and North America. This could potentially revolutionize the agriculturally led economy of Ethiopia. However, Ethiopia is unable to access the European gluten free market for now due to a patent granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) to a Dutch company called Health and Performance Food International (HPFI). The patent relates to the Eragrostis Teff flour and some Teff end products. This article will attempt to answer the question of whether the Teff patent right that was granted by the EPO under the European Patent Convention (EPC) meets patentability requirements. It also further discusses the role of traditional knowledge that is entangled with the processing of Teff. In addition, it explores which avenues or jurisdictions are more suitable to challenge the Teff patent in Europe. Finally, the article will suggest legal instruments that can be used to protect Teff and Teff products in the future.

CNRS 3, FNEGE 4, HCERES B; International audience; This article aims to shed light on the role of technological opportunities for green innovation by studying the case of Green ICT innovation. We test whether firms active in low-opportunity technological areas are less likely to be innovative and whether they are more likely to change their direction of technical change. To do so, we construct a firm-level panel data set for the years 1992–2009 combining patent data from the European Patent Office with firm-level data from the German Innovation Panel (Mannheim Innovation Panel). The results are based on dynamic count data estimation models applying General Methods of Moments estimators. Our results support our hypotheses: firms active in low-opportunity technological areas are less innovative but are more likely to switch from pure ICT innovation to Green ICT innovation.

The dispute between proponents and opponents of the patent system has been especially visible with regard to the patenting of computer programs. Different developments have resulted in the fact that there are large differences in the patent practices between the European Patent Office (EPO) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). While software as such is patentable at the USPTO, the EPO prohibits patenting of pure computer programs and only allows patenting of computer implemented inventions ( ).

Phytol (3,7,11,15-tetramethylhexadec-2-en-1-ol), a diterpene member of long and ramified chain of unsaturated acyclic alcohols. The objective of study was to conduct a systematic review of this diterpene and its pharmaceutical applications in Nervous System diseases in humans and/or rodents. Periodicals bases, such as ScienceDirect and PubMed, were used, as well as technological basis of European Patent Office, World Intellectual Property Organization, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Derwent Innovations Index(®), Latin American Bank of Patents and data base of Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial (INPI-National Institute of Industrial Property). The software EndNote-X5 was utilized as reference with the keywords: phytol, anxiolytic, antidepressant and anticonvulsant and their correlations in English, Spanish and Portuguese from January 2003 to June 2014. There are many publications on phytol in international literature. However, there is a reduced number of articles related to pharmacological activities proposed here. In reference to technological bases, patents present a wide range of pharmacological and commercial applications as cosmetics, hypolipodemic, anxiolytic and antidepressant. Therefore, it is necessary to explore phytol molecules, which present high pharmacological potential from scientific and technological points of view, in search of transference of technologies to generate economical and industrial growth.

The growth of patent thickets—technology fields that are characterized by a large overlap of rights between different right holders—poses a challenge for innovators. Patent thickets are argued to create strong friction in innovation due to a pronounced potential for holdup. So far, we do not know whether patent thickets coincide in all patent systems or if differences exist that policy makers and managers must take into account when aiming to disentangle and to navigate patent thickets, respectively. To address this gap, we measure patent density of technology fields in the patent systems of the United States, the German patent system governed by the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), and the European patent system governed by the European Patent Office (EPO). Our comparisons reveal both interesting differences and similarities between the analyzed patent systems. Although the United States and the EPO patent system show similar relative patent density patterns across technology fields, the German patent system strongly differs from the previous two. This implies that such deviations need to be taken into account by policy makers when considering regulatory measures as well as by companies in their intellectual property strategy.

In recent years eco-innovation studies have placed special emphasis on environmental management in the company encouraging the introduction of a prevention philosophy rather than correction measures of environmental damage. The aim of this article is to contribute to this debate but in the environmentally sound technologies field due to their importance for mitigating climate change. Analyzing the information of the patents filed at the European Patent Office (EPO) from 1978 to 2010, the research carried out a microeconomic analysis about the technological trajectory followed by these technologies. The paper concludes that the efforts in these kinds of technologies are led by developed countries and are still mainly concentrated in corrective technologies rather than preventive ones. Furthermore there has been a shift from the promotion of renewable technologies to abatement policies but if the emissions must be stabilized it is necessary to push public policies in this direction as well as collaboration ...

Background Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine that plays a crucial role not only in the immune system but also in numerous biological processes. Elevated IL-6 levels have been observed in many types of cancer and inflammatory diseases. Among the techniques that have been used to quantify IL-6, a Lateral Flow Assay (LFA) is one of the most promising. Objective The objective of this study was to perform a technological and scientific exploration of the development of an LFA for IL-6. Method The Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial-INPI (Brazil), European Patent Office - Espacenet, and United States Patent and Trademark Office-USPTO were used for the technological prospection to consider all the patents regarding an LFA for IL-6 detection. For the scientific investigation, the following periodic databases were used: Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, and Scielo, and were monitored from 2007 to May 2017. Results We found no patents based on the searched keywords, and a limited number of scientific articles were found. Therefore, the development of an LFA sensor for the detection of IL-6 appears to be innovative with significant biotechnological importance, creating a technology transfer to promote economic and industrial growth. Conclusion The development of lateral flow immunosensors for IL-6 is innovative, as we could not find patents describing such a biosensor. Scientific prospection reported two lateral flow immunosensors. However, the test for IL-6 cannot be completed without using some kind of equipment for detection, such as the one we propose in future developments.

Background: Deuterium oxide is a molecule that has been used for decades in several studies related to human health. Currently, studies on D2O have mobilized a “Race for Patenting” worldwide. Several patents have been registered from biomedical and technological studies of D2O showing the potential of this stable isotope in industry and health care ecosystems. Methods: Most of the patents related to the applications of the deuterium oxide in human health have been summarized in this review. The following patents databases were consulted: European Patent Office (Espacenet), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the United States Latin America Patents (LATIPAT), Patent scope -Search International and National Patent Collections (WIPO), Google Patents and Free Patents Online. Results: With this review, the information was collected on recent publications including 22 patents related to deuterium oxide and its applications in different areas. Conclusion: This review showed that deuterium oxide is a promising component in different areas, including biotechnology, chemistry and medicine. In addition, the knowledge of this compound was covered, reinforcing its importance in the field of biotechnology and human health.

Background Phytases are enzymes capable of degrading phytic acid and are used in animal feed supplementation in order to improve digestibility through the release of minerals such as phosphorus. Recent inventions show interest in production and optimization of recombinant phytases with biochemical and physicochemical characteristics promising for animal feed industry. Methods This review article is focused on relevant patents of promising phytases, together with the commonly used expression systems for their production and tools currently employed to generate new phytases. We revised all patents related to recombinant phytases and their application in the animal feed industry. The following patents databases were consulted: European Patent Office (Espacenet), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the United States Latin America Patents (LATIPAT), Patent scope -Search International and National Patent Collections (WIPO) and Google Patents. Results In this review, information was collected from recent publications, including 38 patents related production systems for different recombinant phytases and their application in the animal feed industry. Conclusion We showed that important recombinant phytases were successfully produced in different expression systems. In addition, this work highlights certain biotechnological tools such as mutagenesis for generation of novel enzymes with biochemical properties of use in the animal feed industry.