Secretly this is the blog our patent attorneys look forward to most. That is because we publish a blog on an intellectual property-related topic written by one of them once every two weeks and they are keen to find out whether their blog is among the most popular ones. In the first blog of the year, i.e. this one, we traditionally announce which of our blogs you clicked the most last year. Were you particularly interested in finding out more about infringements, the new unitary patent or the controversial crompouce? Here’s the countdown from three to one.
3. From balance bike to pedal bike: this is how a dominant patent works
Once you have a patent you are all sorted. Unfortunately that is not quite the case. In this blog, Kees Hollaar explains that many innovations still have to deal with a dominant patent. This is an innovation that you need in order to be able to innovate yourself. This is because many innovations are a follow-on development of something that already exists. Read here how best to take this into account in order to avoid accidentally infringing on someone else’s patent.
2. What happens to patents when a company goes into administration or liquidation?
Did you know that you can lose your patents or patent application when your company goes into administration or liquidation? This is because these belong to the insolvency assets. It is easy to avoid this situation as long as you take appropriate precautionary measures before it is too late. That is the message of Martijn Vermeulen's blog which is at number 2.
1. Concerned bakers: is the inventor of the crompouce within her rights?
The crompouce caused quite a stir in 2023. Crompouce became one of the most Googled words of the year. At EP&C, Thomas Remmerswaal's blog about the pink and yellow treat became the number one most read blog. Last year, the inventor of the crompouce went into battle with bakers who were copying her pastry. This was not a strange move, as she does have a design right. Bakers who thought they could avoid infringing by making a small change to the design or name could be proven wrong as a result. In his blog, Thomas estimates how big the chances of this happening are.
We hope our blogs in 2023 have made you a little more familiar with our fabulous profession. The first blogs for the new year are already waiting to be posted. In 2024 we will continue to tell you everything you 'should' know about patents and intellectual property. If there are any topics you would like to find out more about then please let us know.
We wish you a wonderful, healthy and innovative 2024!
