Intellectual Property UK

  • April 01, 2025

    AstraZeneca Keeps Generics Off Shelves Ahead Of Appeal

    Counsel for AstraZeneca convinced the Court of Appeal on Monday to review a decision to let rival Glenmark release its generic version of a billion-dollar diabetes treatment under an agreement that the company can ship supplies of the drug already packed in trucks as long as it doesn't move ahead with retail sales in the meantime.

  • April 01, 2025

    BAT Unit Can't Nix Philip Morris E-Cig Patent On Appeal

    Philip Morris has retained its patent for a method of heating electronic cigarettes, with European officials tossing a challenge from a British American Tobacco unit after finding that Philip Morris' amended claims made the invention new.

  • April 01, 2025

    Pfizer, Merck Lose Appeal To Patent Cancer Drug Dosage 

    European officials have rejected Pfizer and Merck's second bid to patent a specific cancer drug dosage, ruling that the pharmaceutical giants didn't provide any new justification to protect the treatment they developed together. 

  • April 01, 2025

    Nestlé's Smarties Brand Beats Low-Sugar 'Smart Sweets' TM

    Nestlé has beaten a Canadian low-sugar candy maker's bid for a "Smart Sweets" trademark after European officials were persuaded that confectionery lovers were likely to confuse the brand with the multicolored chocolate Smarties.

  • April 01, 2025

    Fire Alarm Patent Not New, Electrical Supplier Argues

    An electrical equipment supplier has told a London court that a rival fire alarm manufacturer's patent for fire and carbon monoxide alarm systems is not viable because the supplier's competitor sold similar alarm systems before the patent was filed.

  • April 01, 2025

    Hydrogen Tech Biz Must Hand IP To Inventor In Dutch Row

    An inventor has persuaded a court in the Netherlands to order an energy company to hand over a group of applications for patents to extract hydrogen from water after concluding that he is the rightful owner.

  • April 01, 2025

    Candey Denies Mishandling Client's Funds In Libel Dispute

    Disputes firm Candey Ltd. has denied a claim by a former client that it mishandled her money following a settlement in a trademark dispute, while pressing home its allegation that her one-star Google review of its performance was defamatory.

  • March 31, 2025

    Novartis, Genentech Lose Asthma Drug Patent In Netherlands

    Celltrion Inc. has persuaded a Dutch court to revoke Novartis and Genentech's patent in the Netherlands for asthma drug omalizumab, straying from a London judge's recent decision to uphold the U.K. part of the patent.

  • March 31, 2025

    Boult Wade Atty Named Chief Of IP Group's UK Arm

    A European intellectual property union has named a Boult Wade Tennant LLP partner as the new president of its British group.

  • March 31, 2025

    Adidas Refused Broader Protection For Sports Shoe Patent

    European patent officials have rejected a bid by Adidas AG for a broader version of a patent for one of its sports shoe designs but disagreed with a Swiss competitor that the patent should be scrapped entirely.

  • March 31, 2025

    Session Musicians Need Streaming Revenue Fix, Union Says

    The Musicians' Union has pushed the government to give session musicians a share of streaming royalties, noting that a recent increase in upfront studio fees wasn't enough to balance the scales given the streaming industry's gains.

  • March 31, 2025

    LVMH Units Win Glenmorangie, Belvedere Counterfeits Claim

    Two LVMH-owned companies behind Scotch whisky brand Glenmorangie and Polish vodka Belvedere have convinced a court in the Netherlands that a Chinese company infringed their trademarks by importing and storing thousands of counterfeit bottles.

  • March 31, 2025

    Nokia, Amazon End Long-Running Patent Feud With License

    Nokia said Monday that it has inked a patent agreement with Amazon to cover its video technology, marking the end of litigation between the two companies across several continents.

  • March 28, 2025

    Patent Court Likely To Lure Patent Holders With UK IP In Play

    The Unified Patent Court has now doubled down on its authority to hear claims involving U.K. patents, a move that is likely to make the court an even more desirable forum for global infringement actions.

  • March 28, 2025

    VistaJet Escapes VC Fund's Claim Over Investment Deal

    A private jet company owner escaped allegations from a Guernsey venture capital fund that he secretly set up companies to leverage the resources of a business it had invested in, when a London court ruled Friday that the claim came too late.

  • March 28, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen sparkling winemaker Nyetimber hit a rival distillery with an intellectual property claim, Newcastle United's former owner Mike Ashley target the club's ex-vice president for damages tied to a fraudulent investment, and a real estate agency file a legal claim against law firm Winston & Strawn LLP. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 28, 2025

    CureVac RNA Vax Patent Survives BioNTech's EU Challenge

    CureVac SE has fended off a challenge from BioNTech SE of its mRNA therapy patent at a European patent authority, paving the way for CureVac to forge ahead with litigation in the companies' home country of Germany accusing BioNTech of infringing its invention.

  • March 28, 2025

    Pharma Co. Sues Ex-VP For Trade Theft To Benefit Rival

    A pharma company has sued its former senior vice president, accusing him of secretly downloading confidential information in order to share it with a rival weeks before he resigned. 

  • March 28, 2025

    MSD Loses Appeal Over Ruling It Broke 'Merck' Branding Ban

    A London appeals court upheld on Friday a ruling that U.S.-based Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC breached a court order blocking its use of the name "Merck" in a move to safeguard German rival Merck KGaA's trademark rights.

  • March 28, 2025

    AstraZeneca Can't Stop Generic Diabetes Drug Launch

    AstraZeneca has lost an attempt to prevent pharmaceutical company Glenmark from launching a generic version of its $1 billion diabetes drug Forxiga, as a London court refused on Friday to stop the generic maker before a decision on whether AstraZeneca's patent is valid.

  • March 27, 2025

    AstraZeneca Fights Generic Diabetes Drug Launch

    AstraZeneca on Thursday asked a London court to block pharmaceutical company Glenmark from launching a generic version of the drug giant's $1 billion Type 2 diabetes treatment Forxiga, ahead of a decision on whether AstraZeneca's patent is valid.

  • March 27, 2025

    Warner Bros 'Multiversus' UK TM Gets Green Light

    Warner Bros. can register a trademark for its online multiplayer game Multiversus, after British officials ruled that gamers would think it was entirely disconnected from a rival firm's "Versus" brand.

  • March 27, 2025

    Parties Can Dodge Costs By Surrendering Patents, UPC Says

    Parties facing challenges to their patents can swerve liability for their opponent's costs by giving up their intellectual property protections at the outset of the dispute, an appeals panel at the Unified Patent Court has ruled.

  • March 27, 2025

    Beverage Biz Can't Corner The Market For 'Norwich City' TM

    U.K. trademark officials have chucked a drinks maker's bid for a "Norwich City" trademark for alcoholic drinks, rejecting the company's argument that it should be allowed because the city's football club already owns a trademark for "Norwich City FC."

  • March 27, 2025

    Top EU Court Urged To Uphold €60M Teva Pay-For-Delay Fine

    An adviser to the European Union's top court said Thursday that it should uphold €60.5 million ($70.7 million) in fines against Teva and its subsidiary Cephalon for an alleged conspiracy to keep a generic version of Provigil off the shelves.

Expert Analysis

  • Opt-Out Strategy Considerations After Ruling In UPC Appeal

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    The Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court in AIM Sport Development v. Supponor recently clarified the circumstances under which a withdrawal of an opt-out from UPC jurisdiction is possible, bringing new strategic considerations for both patentees and potential defendants, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Opinion

    EU's AI Code Of Practice Creates Risk Of Regulatory Clashes

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    The second draft of the European Commission's Artificial Intelligence Code of Practice significantly expands beyond the European Union's existing legal framework for AI — especially around copyright protection, public transparency and reporting obligations — and risks interfering with other EU laws by introducing requirements contrary to existing regulations, say lawyers at MoFo.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Key Points From Gov't Consultation On Copyright And AI

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    The U.K. government’s current consultation on mitigating artificial intelligence input and output risks to copyright holders seeks to facilitate copyright holders in bringing actions against AI developers that make unauthorized use of protected works and mandate consistent labeling of AI-generated content, say lawyers at Deloitte.

  • What 2025 Holds For UK, EU Restructuring And Insolvency

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    European Union and U.K. restructuring developments in 2024, with a new era of director accountability, the use of cramdown tools and the emergence of aggressive liability management exercises, mean greater consideration of creditors' interests and earlier engagement in restructuring discussions can be expected this year, says Inga West at Ashurst.

  • What To Know As EU Urges Outbound Investment Reviews

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    A recent European Commission recommendation urges European Union member states to review outbound investments in certain critical technologies sectors, but does not clarify the next steps for states once information on relevant transactions in third countries is received, say lawyers at Cleary.

  • Exam Board Ruling Expands Scope Of 'Newcomer Injunctions'

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    The High Court's recent decision granting AQA Education a digital "newcomer injunction" prevents anonymous internet users from distributing unlawfully obtained exam materials, and extends the scope of such injunctions from issues of trespass to the protection of confidential information, say lawyers at Fieldfisher.

  • Considering The Status Of The US Doctrine Of Patent Misuse

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    A recent Ninth Circuit decision and a U.K. Court of Appeal decision demonstrate the impact that the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 decision in Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment has had on the principle that post-patent-expiration royalty payments amount to patent misuse, not only in the U.S. but in English courts as well, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Sky Trademark Ruling Suggests Strategy Tips For Brands

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    Following the U.K. Supreme Court's SkyKick v. Sky trademark ruling, brand owners should strike a balance between a specification broad enough to meet business requirements but not so broad as to invite unnecessary counterattacks for bad faith, says Josh Charalambous at RPC.

  • Keeping Up With Europe's Pregrant Description Amendments

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    A recent Technical Board of Appeal decision that there is no legal basis in the European Patent Convention for requiring pregrant description amendments has generated legal uncertainty on this issue, and practitioners should consider deleting unclaimed alternatives, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • How The UPC, ITC Complement Each Other In Patent Law

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    Attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss the similarities and differences between the Unified Patent Court and the International Trade Commission, as well as recent matters litigated in both venues and why parties choose to file at these forums.

  • Rowing Machine IP Loss Waters Down Design Protections

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    The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court's recent judgment dismissing WaterRower's claim that its wooden rowing machines were works of artistic craftsmanship highlights divergence between U.K. and European Union copyright law, and signals a more stringent approach to protecting designs in a post-Brexit U.K., say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Takeaways From EU's Draft AI Code Of Practice

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    The European Union AI Office’s recently published first draft of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice sheds some welcome light on which Artificial Intelligence Act compliance issues the office finds particularly knotty and, importantly, acknowledges where further guidance will be necessary, say lawyers at Akin.

  • The Rising Tide Of EU Antitrust Enforcement In Pharma

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    The European Commission’s recent record-breaking €463 million fine of Teva for abusing its dominant position confirms that European Union competition law enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector remains a priority, with infringements drawing serious financial exposure, say lawyers at Cooley.

  • What The Future Of AI In Financial Services Looks Like

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    Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the global financial services industry, with a hybrid model likely to evolve where AI handles routine tasks and humans focus on strategy and decision-making, so financial institutions should work with regulators to establish ethical standards and meet regulatory expectations without stifling innovation, say lawyers at Womble Bond.

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