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Intellectual Property UK
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June 18, 2024
Visual Aid Tech Biz Wins EPO Appeal For Portable Magnifier
A maker of electronic magnifiers for the visually impaired has convinced a European Union appellate board that its patent for a travel-friendly magnifying device was an invention.
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June 18, 2024
Samsung Bioepis Denies Infringing Blood Treatment Patent
Samsung Bioepis has fought back against a bid by Alexion to prevent it from selling a biosimilar version of a patented blood treatment drug by a rival, telling a court that this will not infringe the protections of an AstraZeneca subsidiary over the medicine.
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June 17, 2024
Huawei Slams Netgear's 'Tenuous' RICO Case
Huawei has responded to a racketeering and antitrust case from a major U.S. maker of Wi-Fi routers by calling it "rife with tenuous legal and factual claims" and comparing its reworking of patent infringement allegations to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's failed antitrust case against Qualcomm.
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June 24, 2024
Leading Blockchain Lawyer Joins Lawrence Stephens
Lawrence Stephens Ltd. has hired a litigator with expertise in blockchain technology and digital assets from Shoosmiths amid growing demand from clients for advice on cryptocurrency asset recoveries and all other issues associated with emerging technologies.
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June 17, 2024
Supplements Biz Loses Appeal For 'Biogena Moments' TM
A maker of food supplements has lost its bid to register its "Biogena Moments" trademark after an appellate panel at the European Union's intellectual property authority found the brand was not recognizable enough to set it apart from a rival's products.
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June 17, 2024
Tech Co. Loses Bid For Automatic Payments Patent In UK
A payments software company cannot protect its automatic payments system with a patent in the U.K. because it relates solely to a method of doing business, intellectual property officials have ruled.
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June 17, 2024
Nestlé Can't Nix Patent For Milk Allergy-Prevention Formula
Nestlé has failed in its bid to nix a rival's patent for a supplement to help prevent dietary protein allergies after European officials ruled that an amendment restricting its effects to milk proteins made it worthy of protection.
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June 17, 2024
Fintech Biz Beats 'Scrypto' TM Challenge At UKIPO
A fintech company has kept hold of its "Scrypto" trademarks in the U.K. after intellectual property officials ruled that the word is not a "customary" computer programming term.
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June 14, 2024
Meta Halts AI Tech Debut In EU After Regulatory Backlash
Meta Platforms Inc. said Friday that it was putting on hold plans to expand its artificial intelligence offerings to the European market after the Irish privacy regulator raised concerns about the company's efforts to use public content posted on Facebook and Instagram to fuel these models.
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June 14, 2024
Top Court To Face Tough IP Questions On Post-Kitchin Bench
The appellate courts will continue to be plagued by tough questions about intellectual property law unless Parliament intervenes after the election, experts told Law360, as artificial intelligence and complex questions about technology and ownership of inventions continue to percolate up towards the top courts.
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June 14, 2024
CMS Blunder Costs Nestlé Its 'Crunch' TM In The UK
Nestlé has lost its "Crunch" trademark protection in the U.K. after officials ruled the company's lawyers at CMS had no valid excuse for filing a key document late.
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June 14, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen toy company Jellycat hit supermarket Aldi with an intellectual property claim, AIG start proceedings against firefighting foam company Angus International Safety Group, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority file a legal claim against the Post Office amid the ongoing Horizon IT scandal. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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June 14, 2024
EasyGroup Says Charity Platform Website Breached Its TM
The parent group of the easyJet budget airline said on the first day of trial Friday that an online fundraising platform for charities' use of "easy" at the start of its name could lead customers to confuse it with EasyGroup Ltd. 's trademark.
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June 14, 2024
Bitcoin 'Inventor' Drops Case Against Software Developers
Lawyers for the man who failed to prove he invented bitcoin told a London court on Friday that he has dropped a case brought by his company against software developers as it also turned on his claim to be the pseudonymous inventor of the virtual currency.
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June 13, 2024
Labour, Tories Tout AI Innovation While Skirting IP Concerns
Both major parties have vowed in their election manifestos to position the U.K. at the forefront of artificial intelligence development and to use the technology to bolster public services, but they largely ignored complaints that developers have run roughshod over intellectual property rights.
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June 13, 2024
Shakespeare Martineau-Led Armor Biz Buys Rival's IP Assets
A Shakespeare Martineau LLP-led armor manufacturer has secured a rival company's intellectual property portfolio after it entered administration earlier this year, the law firm said Thursday.
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June 13, 2024
Uber Wipes Out Cleaning Co.'s 'UberPro' TM
Uber convinced U.K. intellectual property officials to throw out a Swedish cleaning company's "UberPro" trademark, with the intellectual property body concluding that customers' negative experiences with the cleaning business could damage the ride-hailing giant's reputation.
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June 13, 2024
Meta Facing Complaint Over Plans To Train AI With User Data
A Norwegian consumer protection group has hit Meta with a legal challenge over its plans to deploy its users' data — including images and posts — to train artificial intelligence models.
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June 13, 2024
Influencer Style Platform Loses Screenshot Linking Patent
An influencer shopping platform cannot patent a screenshot-analyzing method that gives users links for the advertised shirts or heels displayed in the pictures, after European officials ruled it was adding in extra features that weren't in the original application.
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June 13, 2024
Samsung Polishes Off Cleaning Robot Patent Protests At EPO
Samsung has beaten a challenge to the validity of its European patent over a cleaning robot, convincing an appeals panel that the design adopted multiple sensors in a way that wasn't obvious.
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June 12, 2024
Nike 'Footware' TM Too Descriptive To Defeat Puma Challenge
Nike cannot resurrect its trademark for the phrase "footware," a European Union court ruled on Wednesday, siding with rival Puma that the word was too descriptive to warrant intellectual property protections.
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June 12, 2024
Anheuser's TM 'Ultra' No More As EU Court Sides With Amstel
Amstel on Wednesday was successful in persuading a European Union court to overturn a ruling that Anheuser-Busch's "Ultra" beer trademark is distinctive, proving that it's a generic term that does not merit protection.
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June 12, 2024
Sony Music Unit Sued By Label Over Viral TikTok Hit
Sony Music unit Ministry of Sound Records has been hit with a copyright claim by a U.K. record label for releasing a version of artist Jay Sean's 2008 hit "Ride It" after a DJ's remake went viral on TikTok.
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June 12, 2024
Tour De France Loses Fight Against Gym's 'Tour De X' TM
The organizer of the Tour de France cycle race lost its challenge against a German gym chain's "Tour de X" trademark Wednesday, after a European court ruled that many cycling competitions use the words "tour de."
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June 12, 2024
Google's GPay TM Gets Declined In Europe
Google lost its appeal on Wednesday after seeking to revive its "GPay" trademark for electronic payment services as a European court ruled that a Bulgarian rival had already cornered the digital market with "ePay."
Expert Analysis
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A Deep Dive Into EU Unified Patent Court Policy
Robert Sterne at Sterne Kessler offers a detailed analysis of the EU's Unified Patent Court and the unitary patent, which go live on June 1, discussing what U.S. practitioners need to know from an enforcement and freedom-to-operate perspective.
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AI And Copyright: Tracking The Ownership Issues
The rise of generative AI has created copyright and ownership challenges in creative industries, but contractual agreements, intellectual property law and AI-specific regulations can be used to address these issues, says Kimiya Shams at Devialet.
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How Ed Sheeran's Serenade May Have Swayed The Jury
While Ed Sheeran's performance of his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" at trial could not protect him from the subconscious copying doctrine, it may have tapped into jurors' intuitions about independent creation, winning him the copyright infringement suit over the song, says Christopher Buccafusco at Duke University School of Law.
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An Overlooked Tool To Fight USPTO 'Restriction'
Over the last several years, we have seen the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office more commonly impose flimsy restrictions on patent applications under the "one invention per application" rule, and practitioners underutilize petition as a means to challenge them, say George Chaclas and Emily Ferriter Russo at Day Pitney.
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Opinion
AI-Generated Works Should Not Have Copyright Protection
The U.S. Copyright Office has correctly determined that works created solely by artificial intelligence do not qualify for protection, as granting exclusive rights to such works would be unwise for a number of reasons, says Thomas McNulty at Lando & Anastasi.
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Examining The New UK Service Guidance For TM Proceedings
A new much-anticipated U.K. Intellectual Property Office practice notice affects situations where there is no valid U.K. address for service of documents in trademark and registered design proceedings, and will mean rights holders are on notice at an earlier stage of proceedings, with limited time in which to respond, says Nina O'Sullivan at Mishcon de Reya.
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A Look At M&S' Registered Design Claim Win Against Aldi
Adding to the long line of cases seeking to restrain Aldi's attempts to mimic market-leading products, Marks & Spencer's recent success in the U.K. High Court based on registered designs demonstrates that supermarket copycat products may no longer be able to sail so close to the wind, says Alex Borthwick at Powell Gilbert.
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UK Teva Ruling Brings Patent Remedy Into Question
Arrow declarations have been considered an extremely effective tool for patent litigators, but following the recent U.K. Court of Appeal decision in Teva v. Novartis it appears that courts are looking to take a more conservative view, say David Holt and Tony Proctor at Potter Clarkson.
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How CJEU Case Shifts TM Liability For Platforms Like Amazon
The EU Court of Justice's recent ruling on Amazon's liability for trademark infringement in relation to fake Christian Louboutin shoes advertised by third parties on its website may leave web platforms that sell third-party vendors' products alongside their own brands more vulnerable to infringement claims, say Louisa Chambers and Helen Reddish at Travers Smith.
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Europe's New Unitary Patent System Will Affect IP Agreements
Marco Stief at Maiwald discusses key points in intellectual property agreements that legal practitioners will need to consider in Europe's soon-to-open centralized patent court, including regional exclusivity in different contracting member states.
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EU Medicine Reboxing Ruling Gives Guidance To Pharma Cos.
The recent landmark decision of the Court of Justice of the EU in Novartis Pharma on repackaging medicines has provided pharma companies with a much-needed framework, with better protections for trademarks and clearer protocols for handling imported products, say Ulf Grundmann and Elisabeth Kohoutek at King & Spalding.
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A Look Ahead At Key UK Intellectual Property Cases
Anticipated 2023 U.K. intellectual property decisions include robotics, artificial intelligence, and clean energy matters that have also been heard in the U.S., while other areas to watch include global fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory issues, as well as COVID-19 patent litigation, say Tom Oliver and Claire Robinson at Powell Gilbert.
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Lessons That May Be Learned From The Demise Of Made.com
With Made.com going into administration, companies that may face similar challenges should take on board that the earlier adequate preemptive planning is considered, the more financial and legal options there will be to avoid last minute firefighting and to focus instead on strengthening the business, says Eleni Michaela at Faegre Drinker.
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Teva Case Aims Europe's Pharma Crackdown At IP Loophole
The European Commission's recent allegations against Teva signal not only the EU competition watchdog's continued focus on intellectual property violations in the pharmaceutical sector but also its new enforcement interest in exclusionary disparagement, say Robert Bell and Malgorzata Janiec at Armstrong Teasdale.
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Determining Whether To Opt Out Of New Unified Patent Court
The new United Patent Court, made up of judges from all European Union member states, will cover the new unitary patent and European patents unless the owner chooses to opt out during the transition period, so patent proprietors must consider whether to opt out for each patent family, say Steffen Steininger and Anna-Katharina Friese-Okoro at Hogan Lovells.