NIPC Law

Offshore Wind Farm Photo Anke Hueper Source Wikipedia Creative Commons Licence Jane Lambert Wobben Properties GmbH v Siemens Public Ltd Company and Others [2017] EWCA Civ 5 (19 Jan 2017) The claimant company, Wobben Properties GmbH is the registered proprietor of European patent   EP0847496 for a method of operating a wind power station.  The invention is described as follows: "The invention pertains to a method of operating a wind power station, especially to limit the load on a wind power station, preferably a pitch-controlled wind power station. The invention also pertains to a corresponding wind power station. The invention is designed to increase the output of a wind power station and yet limit the load on the wind power station at very high wind velocities. This is accomplished by reducing the power of the wind power station as a function of wind velocity as of a predetermined wind velocity, preferably by reducing the opera...

"Litigate patents in Northern Ireland? Yes, it can be done" was the headline of the PatLit blog for its case note on Siemens A.G. v Seagate Technology (Ireland) Ltd [2011] NICh 12 as if the author of that piece had seen and heard a talking monkey. No discussion of the case other than the result, an aside from the judge and the delayed publication of the judgment. In a circular to Solo IP Practitioners that same day, Jeremy Phillips asked "Does SOLO IP have any Northern Ireland readers out there who would like to share their thoughts and feelings with others -- or who can disabuse this blogger of the impression he has painted above? If so, we'll be delighted to hear from you." That impression was of rain clouds with the caption "Northern Ireland - better known for its weather than for its IP". The circular continued: "its small population (fewer than 2 million) and largely agrarian economy probably offer less scope for developing an intel...