Welcome to the Autumn edition of LSIPR. This issue’s cover story focuses on the microbiome, an increasingly frenetic area of scientific research.

One category of microbiome-targeting therapies uses groups of bacteria that cooperate within a larger community, a so-called microbial consortium.

The IP strategy for therapeutics in this field differs from traditional drugs because microbes, the active ingredient, present in a consortium may be well known and thus not novel, as our page 6 article explains.

Meanwhile, AI and smart technologies are now essential to many advances in medical technologies. And this has prompted a focus on what the European Patent Office’s Board of Appeal tags as ‘technical character’. In fact, two of this year’s most significant cases where these areas intersect are examined in detail on page 7: a must-read for any company offering wearable tech such as fitness watches containing sensors.

Elsewhere we analyse the UK Supreme Court ruling over whether a public body (in this case the Competition and Markets Authority) should pay the costs of a party that successfully appeals a Court of Appeal infringement decision (page 8).

The result has improved access to justice, say the authors from Bristows.

Also in this issue, make sure you check our in-depth articles on pay-for-delay in Japan and the World Trade Organization’s COVID ‘waiver’.

I hope you enjoy the issue.