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The European Commission has announced a new initiative for a single procedure for the granting of SPCs across the European Union.

The Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs provides a simple and cost-effective route for designers to protect their designs in multiple countries worldwide through the filing of a single international application.

The UK Intellectual Property Office has launched a public consultation on the UK designs framework. In particular, it seeks to gather views and evidence from businesses, consumers and professionals on three main areas - new opportunities, future frameworks and better regulation.

Last month saw the UKIPO launch a call for views on the Standard Essential Patents ecosystem and whether change is needed. We have summarised the purpose of this call and shed light on key issues surrounding this area of intellectual property.

In the recent decision T 1989/18 one of the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) ruled that there is no legal basis for requiring amendment of the description to be in line with the allowed claims.

Austria has deposited its ratification of the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement. The effect of this is to trigger the start of the commencement of the Provisional Application Period and the birth of the UPC as an international organisation.