Peter Kylin
CEO, managing partner and authorized patent, design and trademark attorney
www.hynell.se
RECENT CHANGES IN SWEDISH PATENT LAW HAVE FACILITATED AN INTERESTING OPPORTUNITY FOR INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS
The following recent changes in Swedish patent law have facilitated an interesting opportunity, particularly for international clients:
1. The Swedish Patent Office has eliminated the translation requirement for applications written in English and filed on or after July 1, 2014.
2. This “no translation needed” rule applies to any pending PCT application written in English and still within the statutory deadline (even if it was filed prior to July 1, 2014).
3. The Global Patent Prosecution Highway has expanded, and the Swedish Patent Office is a participant. As such, favorable examination results from the Swedish Patent Office may be used as a basis for PPH-accelerated applications in many major offices, including the US, China, Japan, Korea, and the EPO.
This set of circumstances creates opportunity. As you may know, the Swedish Patent Office has a relatively fast turnaround time for first examination – typically less than 9 months. Thus, for clients who might ultimately seek to validate an EPO-granted patent in Sweden, direct National Stage (or even Paris Convention) filing in Sweden offers the opportunity to “leapfrog” the current EPO-centric examination process. While Swedish-specific prosecution costs would be incurred, these are expected to be substantially less than the aggregate annuities paid to the EPO.
Additionally, Swedish prosecution may be used to reduce the aggregate EPO annuities per se, by reducing the pendency time at the EPO via the PPH program. Inasmuch as the Swedish Patent Office follows EPC procedure, the initial office action from the Swedish Patent Office may also provide some insight into the expected EPO reaction.
For clients seeking issued patents in Sweden, or even clients seeking to accelerate the examination process elsewhere, these changes in Swedish patent law offer an exciting opportunity. Please let us know if we may provide any further information.
© Peter Kylin.
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Peter Kylin
CEO, managing partner and authorized patent, design and trademark attorney Master of Science 1982, CTH, in Mechanical Engineering Peter has been an examiner at PRV, Stockholm, and EPO in Munich and has many years of experience as an IP manager in industry. Peter has been a board member of PRV and SFIR, and chairman of SEPAF. Peter is currently member of the board of IPQ AB, Hynell & Partners AB, Hynell AS, Swea IP Law AB and NellPat AB. When the opportunity arises, he teaches patent law at the Universities of Karlstad and Örebro and his article has also been published in the NIR. |
