On November 16, 2023 the joint Maiwald and Oblon complimentary joint international Symposium took place in Munich. Within the event, recent developments and current aspects of IP practice in the U.S. and Europe were discussed. As you are aware, both US and European patent systems have their pros and cons, which do not always neatly align. US and European applicants alike need to be aware of the differences and peculiarities between the US and European patent systems in order to achieve the best results from both.

At the joint symposium, selected current aspects of IP practice related to prosecuting applications and enforcing patents in the U.S. and in Europe were examined. While similarities exist, applicants for U.S. and European patents need to be aware of the peculiarities and most recent developments in each system in order to achieve the best results. In particular, the symposium addressed the following important topics for today’s practitioners:

1. Ex parte appeals before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
2. First 160 days of the Unitary Patent System, a new era in Europe
3. Evolving enablement standards in the U.S.
4. Updates on extrinsic evidence and plausibility after G 2/21 in Europe
5. Catching the innovation – challenges of patenting AI in life science
6. Patenting AI in the U.S. – challenges and opportunities
7. Updates on U.S. obviousness issues in view of the 2023 Federal Circuit decisions
   in Netflix v. DivX (nonanalogous art) and Axonics v. Medtronic (motivation to
   combine)
8. Practical guide for computer-implemented inventions at the EPO

Presenters included: David Longo (Oblon), Tobias Philipp (Maiwald), Andrew Ollis (Oblon), Derk Vos (Maiwald), Daniel Pereira (Oblon), Annelie Wünsche (Maiwald), James Love (Oblon) and Martina Boidol (Maiwald). Drinks and hors d’oeuvres were be provided at a casual reception following the symposium.