The article examines how the EU’s new transparency framework for clinical trials affects patentability assessments for inventions arising in the clinical phase. From both a regulatory and a patent law perspective, the authors outline where and when disclosures (e.g., trial registrations and related documents) may create prior art and how this interacts with established EPO case law and first decisions from the UPC. Building on these findings, the piece provides practical guidance on aligning regulatory timelines and publication obligations with filing strategies so that technical effects and claim scope can be robustly supported.
Read the full article by Dr. Anja Fux, Dr. Eva Ehlich, Dr. Manja Epping and Christoph Behm, published in epi information 1/2026.
