Alfons Laudy

Account manager

Welcome to the world

of patents

How to deal with

Innovations and
inventions . .
Van Hall Larenstein
May 6th, 2013

| NL Octrooicentrum
Contents

• (Netherlands) Patent Office

• Intellectual Property
» Copyright
» Trademark
» Patents
• Patents: criteria
• How to get a patent in other countries?
• Patent information
• What can you do with patents?

| NL Octrooicentrum
Apple vs. Samsung

| NL Octrooicentrum
 DESIGN. Apple?: differents are possible

Dutch court says Samsung's rounded corners don't

infringe Apple design
By Kevin Bostic
A Dutch court handed Apple its fourth patent defeat in a year on Wednesday, finding
that the rounded corners of Samsung's Galaxy Tab products do not infringe on
Apple's registered design features.
The ruling, handed down by a district court in The Hague, covers the Galaxy Tab
10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, and Galaxy Tab 7.7.

Apple had argued in court that the devices violated its rounded edge design patent,
a design feature widely adopted among tablet manufacturers in the wake of the
iPad's success. According to Reuters, however, the court sided with Samsung, and
ruled the devices were not infringing on Apple's designs.
Samsung, in a statement, said that "Apple was not the first to design a tablet with a
rectangular shape and rounded corners." The company went on to say that
numerous examples of prior art exist for Apple's registered design features.

The decision is at least the fourth patent defeat for Apple in Dutch courts in the past
year, following Samsung victories related to 3G patents and multitouch technology
in June and October of last year, as well as a decision in January finding that the
Galaxy Tab 10.1 did not violate other Apple design patents.
…
Bron: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/01/16/dutch-court-says-samsungs-rounded-corners-dont-infringe-apple-design

Also see: http://webwereld.nl/e-commerce/54467-apple-levert-onjuist-bewijs-in-zaak-tegen-samsung

| NL Octrooicentrum
Apple vs. Samsung
Bron: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/23/samsung-cites-kubricks-2001-film-as-prior-art-defense-against-apples-injunction-request/

Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey

“Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of
a still image taken from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film
"2001: A Space Odyssey." In a clip from that film lasting
about one minute, two astronauts are eating and at the
same time using personal tablet computers. The clip can
be downloaded online at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ8pQVDyaLo.
As with the design claimed by the D’889 Patent, the tablet
disclosed in the clip has an overall rectangular shape with
a
dominant display screen, narrow borders, a predominately
flat front surface, a flat back surface (which is evident
because
the tablets are lying flat on the table's surface), and a thin
form factor.

| NL Octrooicentrum
Huidige stand van zaken

| NL Octrooicentrum
 Design

Samsung?: On the
market the different
is not big.

7 | NL Octrooicentrum
Bron: Computer Totaal 2011
 Technical aspects
Patents
Patents from
Infringement No infringement
NL lawsuit

| NL Octrooicentrum
NL Agency Organisation

| NL Octrooicentrum
Mission
1. To grant patents
2. To raise patent awareness
3. To represent NL in international organizations
(Together with the department of Economic Affairs Agriculture & Innovation)

Tasks
1. To grant patents for the Netherlands
2. To register European Patents (EPO, not EU),
valid for NL
3. To execute awareness programs.

| NL Octrooicentrum
 Intellectual Property
Non-industrial: Industrial:

 Copyright  Patents NL Octrooicentrum

 Database right  “Chips”
 Domain names
 Trade names  Trade marks
 Designs

 Plant breeders rights

| NL Octrooicentrum
Intellectual Property Patents

Trademarks
Copyrights

Designs

| NL Octrooicentrum
 Copyright

• Original
• Automatic
• Cheap
• Last long
• International

| NL Octrooicentrum
Trademark

| NL Octrooicentrum
 Voorbeelden Merken
Woorden Beeldmerken

Philips 007
Apple 4711
Nikon
Varta KLM
Logitech ING
Van Bommel Calvé

De krant voor wakker NL

| NL Octrooicentrum
Design and trademark protection

• Per country

• Benelux

• Europe (EU)

• International

17 | NL Octrooicentrum
Customers confusion?

supermarket ships puzzles

Soccer club Fire extinguisher Cleaning agent

Trademark protection per product:

different products can have the same n
| NL Octrooicentrum
Domain names vs trade marks

Jumbo.nl Puzzles
Jumbo.com Free and shareware
Jumbo.eu Jumbo.nl
Jumbosupermarkten.nl

ajax.nl soccerclub
ajax.com Cleaning agent (Colgate)
ajax.eu --
Ajaxfire.nl (fire extinguisher)

| NL Octrooicentrum
Patent
A temporary IP right for the patent owner in a
country to prohibit a third party:

to produce ..
to store..
to market or sell..
to use in a process step ..

… the invention

Trade off: Publication and payment of taxes

| NL Octrooicentrum
Design protection Brow band

21 | NL Octrooicentrum
Requirements to obtain a patent :

Novelty (word wide)

Inventive step (non obvious)
Industrial applicable (technical aspects)

Reproducible
Application in language of country. Sometimes English is accepted (NL)

Patent attorney
Octrooigemachtigde
Patentanwalt
| NL Octrooicentrum
Structure of the description
Prior art
Teapot with one spout
Drawback of prior art
Time-consuming
Problem to solve
Reduce filling time
Solution
Provide a second spout
(Patent)
Advantage of the invention
The time needed to fill multiple
cups is reduced GB360253
(additional information)

| NL Octrooicentrum
Senz ®
Umbrella

| NL Octrooicentrum
Patent publications
Senz umbrellas

prioriteit
priority
P.C.T.

Within 12 months from priotity date Within 30 months from priority date
| NL Octrooicentrum
Expanding patent protection to other countries:
Senz paraplu
1st Application NL1029225; date of Filing 9-6-2005 (priority date)
Patents in other
countries must be
applied for within 12
Patent applications in other countries via:
PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty). months!
WO2006NL00281; Filing date: 7-6-2006
(= priority date +12 months)
PCT is always an APPLICATION for appr. 130 countries.
Granting patents by the countries it selves. PCT-procedure ends
Request for granting has to be done within 30 months
from priority date in designated states. after 30 months (from
priority date)!!

Example: Canada: CA2609323

(Via PCT-procedure: priority date +29 maanden)

| NL Octrooicentrum
Patent family in Europe

EP Application
EP0595423

Priority
NL9201855 EP granted patent
EP0595423
| NL Octrooicentrum
 Premier
Depot

National
Result
of use priority (via EP)
Via priority connected patents
Regional

Europe
(EP)
are called:
• a patent family
• equivalents
National.
National.
National.
Gemany National.
(DE) France
(FR) Gr, Britt.
(GB) The
etherlands
max. 38 countries
(NL)

| NL Octrooicentrum
Costs (EP)

| NL Octrooicentrum
Why & when to use
patent information ?
Patent = Protection (IPR)
Innovation process
A n d i n f o r m a t i o n !!
monitoring
competitors + sector
idea

- Inspiration, ideas,
- Technical solutions (how?)
concept - Market information (who?),
- Strategic Information
(license <-> development)

prototype

IPR
product

IPR

markt
introduction monitoring
competitors

| NL Octrooicentrum
 When apply for a patent?

On the moment the product that comes on the market is visible!

| NL Octrooicentrum
 Optional

| NL Octrooicentrum
www.espacenet.com

www.depatisnet.de
| NL Octrooicentrum
This kind of "jargon" is often used to broaden the scope of the patent ...

Transistor

"Semiconductor switching
device with a control electrode"

| NL Octrooicentrum
Sometimes, the applicant simply doesn't want his patent to be found …

Toy ball

"Spherical object with

floppy filaments"

| NL Octrooicentrum
Sometimes, the applicant simply doesn't want his patent to be found …

Ball bearing

"A plurality of balls"

| NL Octrooicentrum
 “Uitgebreid Zoekenscherm”
Espacenet

English in
“Worldwide”
National language in national
databasesn

Maximum of
10 keywords

Wider search string by using

truncation: e.g. chair*
More help

| NL Octrooicentrum
Searching trademarks

40 | NL Octrooicentrum
Training method by the colours blue and yellow

41 | NL Octrooicentrum
Searching trademarks
in Germany

42 | NL Octrooicentrum
Searching trademarks: result

43 | NL Octrooicentrum
 Searching trademarks:
details

44 | NL Octrooicentrum
Searching for Geitner, Michael
in Espacenet patent database

45 | NL Octrooicentrum
Subject codes
in patent literature
IPC and CPC
E 01
02
Saddles; stirrups 03
B D 04

B68(Upholstery) C
A B 05
A B C DE 06
B68C 07
08
09
10

A - HUMAN NECESSITIES
B - PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
C - CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
D - TEXTILES; PAPER
E - FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
F - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING ENGINES OR PUMPS
G - PHYSICS
H - ELECTRICITY
Y - GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
www.epo.org/pi-tour CC Foto: Neil101

Lokaal Engels
| NL Octrooicentrum
Surprising results
Espacenet
patent database

Searching “A42B3 and horse”

A42B3 are helmets;
found by searching in Classification on ‘riding cap”

| NL Octrooicentrum
48 | NL Octrooicentrum
Belangrijke links op startpagina Espacenet

| NL Octrooicentrum
Reins

With safety device

(to avoid harming the animal )

British patent
GB 2296645

http://v3.espacenet.com/origdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=GB22
96645&QPN=GB2296645

| NL Octrooicentrum
Patent Classification reins:

• B68B 1/02 :
Devices in connection with harness, for hitching, reining,
training, breaking or quietening horses; Halters

• A01K 27/00B:
Leads or collars, e.g. for dogs; Quick-couplings, safety-couplings
or shock-absorbing devices between leash and collar

| NL Octrooicentrum
Alternatives
US4186690
WO2006007334

US5785011

The hook (22) is designed to break

to prevent user injury in the event
of excessive force

US5195217
US6457896
| NL Octrooicentrum
Van wie is dit octrooi?

| NL Octrooicentrum
License

Permission to infringe

different types:
● exclusive or non-exclusive

● cross-license

● For a particular (or part of) research area

in exchange for money:

● upfront and/or annual fees

● milestone payments

● royalties

| NL Octrooicentrum
 Other contracts
• Trade Secret (bedrijfsgeheim)
• Non disclosure agreement
• Cooperation clause
• i-Depot (Benelux Bureau: bbie.nl of boip.int)

| NL Octrooicentrum
One product; multiple IP
Patent
Trade mark

Copyright,
Trade mark
(shape)

| NL Octrooicentrum
 Objection of
shape trade
mark by
Mega Bloks

(December 2006)

| NL Octrooicentrum
Cancellation EU-merk

Nov. 2007

| NL Octrooicentrum
Lego HvJ sept. 2010

Hof haalt streep door merkbescherming Legoblokje

AMSTERDAM - De blokjes van Lego zijn niet beschermd als merk,

stelt het Europees Hof. Dit betekent dat concurrenten voortaan
blokjes kunnen verkopen die precies passen op die van Lego.

Het Europees Hof van Justitie maakte dinsdag een definitief einde aan een juridische strijd die jaren heeft
gewoed. De uitspraak geldt voor de gehele Europese Unie, dus ook voor Nederland. Lego kan hierdoor niet
langer de blokjes van concurrenten uit de winkels weren. In 1996 heeft Lego een aanvraag ingediend om het
speelgoedblokje in te schrijven als gemeenschapsmerk.
Reden hiervoor was dat het octrooi op het blokje was verlopen. Een inschrijving als merk zou eeuwigdurende
bescherming voor Lego opleveren. In eerste instantie werd het blokje ook ingeschreven, maar concurrent
Mega Brands, die blokjes maakt met dezelfde vorm en afmetingen als die van Lego, heeft deze bescherming
aangevochten. Tegen het vonnis van het Europees Hof is geen beroep mogelijk. ,,Lego kan nu niets meer
doen om de verkoop van het speelgoed van Mega Brands tegen te gaan’’, zegt merkendeskundige
Alexander van Laaren van het Amsterdamse bureau Markfellows. ,,Het octrooi is verlopen, het merk is niet
meer beschermd. In principe kan Lego nog proberen de verkoop van Mega Brands onrechtmatig te laten
verklaren, maar dat maakt na deze uitspraak weinig kans.’’
Volgens het Hof is de vorm van Lego technisch bepaald, noodzakelijk om de blokjes op elkaar te kunnen
plaatsen. Zo’n vorm is niet te beschermen. De naam Lego is wel beschermd.

Bron: Nederlands Dagblad (14 september 2010)

| NL Octrooicentrum
Eg. Paperclip

290 patents for paperclip

One basic invention
The rest is about new versions or incremental
changes

| NL Octrooicentrum
GB2352267: G. Wyers, 1999
Improvement barb extension
| NL Octrooicentrum
German Patent Office: www.dmpa.de
European Patent Office: www.epo.org

Patent Teaching Kit (EPO):

http://www.epo.org/learning-events/materials/kit.html

Espacenet Assistant (EPO):

http://application.epo.org/wbt/espacenet/assistant.php?lg=en

Espacenet Brochure (EPO)

64 | NL Octrooicentrum
General information

Website:
www.AgentschapNL.nl/octroooicentrum
www.octrooicentrum.nl

Information desk
tel: 088 – 602 6000 or NLoctrooicentrum@AgentschapNL.nl

ing. A.J.M. Laudy

tel: 088 - 602 66 57 or alfons.laudy@AgentschapNL.nl

Espacenet: http//www.espacenet.nl
Patent register: http://register.octrooicentrum.nl

| NL Octrooicentrum