At international level, there are considerable differences in the various patent law systems. Harmonization has been under discussion for decades. The joint SPLH-Colloquium of FICPI, AIPPI and AIPLA has set itself the task of identifying and overcoming the international challenges. Focus of the Colloquium on 6 June 2024 at the European Patent Office in Munich lied primarily on the introduction or harmonization of a grace period for inventions. The scope of the Prior User Right and the question of derived Prior User Rights in relation to the grace period were also part of the discussion. These topics were first introduced in a joint plenary session and afterwards debated in individual workshops. Conflicting Applications were also subject of the Colloquium, but did not receive their own workshop.
On 7 June 2024, a plenary session was held to prepare a joint statement by the participants based on the results of the workshops discussions. The statement has yet to be published. Hendrik Meier attended the Colloquium as a participant and secretary of the workshop “Prior User Rights: Scope”.
For further information see https://ficpi.org/events/event/ficpi-aippi-aipla-2024-joint-colloquium-splh-munich and the relevant LinkedIn pages of the participating organizations.
