Patents

The “Inventa IP Review” annually highlights key intellectual property (IP) developments from the past year. This magazine features our team's opinion articles, interviews, press releases, and other expert insights.

From March 1st 2025, the amendments to the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Design will take effect, including their implementing regulations, Forms and Fees. These amendments are applicable to all existing and new applications. 

On February 3rd the application period for SME Fund began, an initiative implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) with the aim of helping small and medium-sized enterprises with the protection of IP rights. The fund offers partial reimbursements for expenses related to:

• IP Scan / IP Enforcement: up to €810 (in Portugal)

• Trademarks and Designs: up to €700

• National Patents: up to €1.500

• European Patents: up to €2.500

• Plant Variety application: €1.500

Recently, the EPO announced two European patent validation agreements with Costa Rica and Laos. Details of the agreement have not yet been fully disclosed and are not yet in force. Based on these agreements, European patents validated in these two countries will have the same effects as the respective national patents.

This article explores the legal remedies under the European Patent Convention (EPC) that enable rightful applicants to reclaim ownership of European patent applications unlawfully filed by others. Such situations often arise from breaches of ethical or legal obligations.

This position is exclusive to one expert per country, with only 12 experts selected across Europe, serving a six-year term.

On November 16, Inventa Nigeria attended the Africa Startup Festival (ASF), a vibrant gathering of young professionals, founders and ambitious entrepreneurs from across the African continent. The ASF featured discussions on innovation, deal-making, and strategic collaboration within the startup ecosystem.

It is well known that for an invention to be patentable, it must be ‘new’, even if the concept of what is new is not fully clear. But if we move forward and ask about the other two patentability requirements that must be met for an invention to be granted a patent—inventive step and industrial applicability—others might scratch their noses and tilt their head.

CNIPA and ARIPO will collaborate over the next five years to enhance intellectual property cooperation between China and Africa through the new CNIPA-ARIPO Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program.

The 2024 AIPPI World Congress took place in Hangzhou, China, from October 19th to the 22nd, bringing together professionals from across the global intellectual property (IP) community. The event covered a broad range of key IP topics, including examinations, IP protection, trademarks, and patents.