Intellectual Property UK

  • October 14, 2024

    Toy Co. Founder Denies Copying Bratz Doll Maker's Design

    The founder of a toy company denied on Monday that his product was a copy of "LOL Surprise" dolls by MGA Entertainment Inc. as he accused the Bratz maker giant of killing his product with baseless patent infringement claims.

  • October 14, 2024

    Photo Print Co. Denies Infringing Nail-Free Frame Patent

    The company behind a photo printing app has hit back at allegations that it is selling a copycat version of a sticky-back picture frame which is protected by patent, alleging that the rival design does not meet the criteria for such protection.

  • October 14, 2024

    Mitsubishi Co. Shatters Rival's Glass Patent Protests At EPO

    A Mitsubishi company can fight to keep its glass sheet patent after it beat a rival's claim that the blueprint is not sufficiently detailed, a European appeals panel held in a ruling released Monday.

  • October 11, 2024

    Huawei Judge Asks If Netgear Suit Stretches Antitrust Law

    A California federal judge expressed some skepticism Friday about allowing router maker Netgear Inc. to proceed with monopolization claims over Huawei Technologies Co.'s patents, wondering aloud whether this would amount to "saying any breach of contract claim can be turned into an antitrust case."

  • October 11, 2024

    Sandoz Gets Biogen Neurological Treatment Patent Tossed

    A London court on Friday tossed Biogen MA Inc.'s patent underpinning its method of assessing whether a rare neurological disorder was valid, following a series of challenges from rival Sandoz.

  • October 11, 2024

    Ferrari Loses European Trademark For '488 Pista'

    Ferrari has lost the trademark for its 488 Pista sports car model after European officials concluded that its trademark bore too much similarity to an Austrian motorcycle brand's "Pista" mark.

  • October 11, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen billionaire Lakshmi Mittal sue steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta in a long-running clash to claw back €140 million ($153 million) of debt, a high-profile AI researcher take action against the Intellectual Property Office to register his software as a listed patent inventor and troubled housing trust Home Reit face a claim by a real estate developer. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • October 11, 2024

    Courier Biz Rebukes EasyGroup TM Claim Over 'EasyCargo'

    Courier price comparison website EasyCargo has told a London court that its company trademark does not infringe two of easyGroup's trademarks, after the easyJet owner launched its latest bid to stop what it calls "brand thieves."

  • October 11, 2024

    Tech Biz Can't Get Descriptive AI Operating System TM In EU

    A tech company cannot register the phrase "The Operating System For Artificial Intelligence" as a trademark because the sign is too descriptive, European Union officials have ruled.

  • October 11, 2024

    Toyota Inks 5G Vehicle Patent License Deal With Avanci

    Avanci LLC and Japanese auto giant Toyota have struck a deal over a pool of essential patents linked to 5G connected vehicles, the U.S. license operator has said.

  • October 10, 2024

    Seoul Semiconductor Wins Injunction Bid Over Chip Patent

    Europe's patent court ruled Thursday that a Seoul Semiconductor unit could block a German retailer from selling phones in a slew of countries because it infringed its patent for a light-emitting diode chip.

  • October 10, 2024

    Sen. Warren, Novo At Odds On Merits Of $16.5B Deal

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday raised the alarm on Novo Holdings' planned $16.5 billion purchase of Catalent, arguing the transaction could give Novo "unprecedented" control over the production of certain obesity drugs by Eli Lilly and other top competitors, but Novo insists the deal would give it no such edge.

  • October 10, 2024

    Dutch Biz Gets 2nd Shot To Patent Encryption System

    Ward Participations revived a patent for a digital transaction authenticator after European appellate officials ruled that an amendment passed muster, a small victory after it lost a similar battle against Samsung in the U.S.

  • October 10, 2024

    Drug Tech Developer Wins EPO Spat Over Inhaler Patent

    A drug delivery device maker has convinced European appellate officials to nix a challenge brought by a business linked to law firm Kilburn & Strode LLP to its patent for a type of inhaler that delivers a set amount of medication.

  • October 10, 2024

    Dutch Co. Wins Patent Over Washing Machine Cabinet At EPO

    A Dutch company's purpose-built washing machine cabinet is sufficiently inventive over an earlier piece of Ikea furniture to merit a European patent, an appeals panel has ruled.

  • October 10, 2024

    EU Seals Revised Designs Legislation For Modern Era

    The Council of the European Union said Thursday that it has given its final approval to a new set of laws designed to protect industrial designs in an era of digital blueprints and 3D printing.

  • October 09, 2024

    LG Chem Can't Revive Patent For Superabsorbent Resin

    An appellate board refused to grant LG Chem a patent for a superabsorbent polymer, ruling that one of its core features lacked key information that would allow other scientists to replicate the water-absorbent resin.

  • October 09, 2024

    Nokia Inks Patent Licensing Deal With Streaming Platform

    Nokia has signed a deal to license its video streaming patents to an undisclosed platform, the Finnish company's second such agreement over its intellectual property in recent months.

  • October 09, 2024

    Academy Of Pop Wins TM Despite 'Pop' Rival's Efforts

    A pop academy has won its bid to register a trademark for "Academy of Pop" as European officials ruled that the school formed by a former Spice Girls manager was not encroaching on a Slovenian media company's turf.

  • October 09, 2024

    ETSI Rolls Out New Specification For Fixed Networks

    Europe's telecommunications standards body has completed the release of a new specification for fixed networks that aims to boost bandwidth, reliability and energy efficiency while complementing existing 5G mobile networks.

  • October 08, 2024

    AI And Geopolitics Top Concerns For Employers In 2024

    British businesses are early adopters of artificial intelligence, especially in recruitment and human resources, but a dearth of policies about how to use the technology in the workplace leaves companies at risk of discrimination and data privacy claims, Littler's annual survey of European employers published on Wednesday shows.

  • October 08, 2024

    Pfizer And BioNTech Get CureVac MRNA Patent Chucked

    Pfizer and BioNTech won their bid to scrap two CureVac patents Tuesday, after a London judge held that the gene therapy-related invention was missing key information that would merit protection.

  • October 08, 2024

    Bratz Maker Accused Of Trying To 'Kill' Rival In £130M IP Claim

    Toy giant MGA Entertainment Inc. "killed" a startup it saw as a rival by blacklisting it with U.K. retailers and making baseless threats of patent infringement litigation, a lawyer for the failed emerging company told a court Tuesday.

  • October 08, 2024

    Pfizer Gets GSK Patents For RSV Jab Axed In UK

    A London judge has granted Pfizer's bid to nix two patents protecting GSK's blockbuster vaccine for the respiratory syncytial virus, blocking GSK's future infringement claims a month after launching its own jab in the U.K.

  • October 08, 2024

    Astellas Beats Challenges To Blockbuster Cancer Patent

    Pharmaceutical giant Astellas persuaded a London court on Tuesday to spare vital patent protections for its blockbuster prostate cancer therapeutic Xtandi, rebuffing a series of challenges attempting to clear the way for generic variants.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    AI-Generated Works Should Not Have Copyright Protection

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Examining The New UK Service Guidance For TM Proceedings

    Author Photo

    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.

  • A Look At M&S' Registered Design Claim Win Against Aldi

    Author Photo

    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.

  • UK Teva Ruling Brings Patent Remedy Into Question

    Author Photo

    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.

  • How CJEU Case Shifts TM Liability For Platforms Like Amazon

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Europe's New Unitary Patent System Will Affect IP Agreements

    Author Photo

    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.

  • EU Medicine Reboxing Ruling Gives Guidance To Pharma Cos.

    Author Photo

    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.

  • A Look Ahead At Key UK Intellectual Property Cases

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Lessons That May Be Learned From The Demise Of Made.com

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Teva Case Aims Europe's Pharma Crackdown At IP Loophole

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Determining Whether To Opt Out Of New Unified Patent Court

    Author Photo

    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.

  • 10 Things To Know About The Coming EU Unified Patent Court

    Author Photo

    When the Unified Patent Court opens next year, it will represent a paradigm shift for adversarial patent proceedings in Europe, and practitioners should familiarize themselves now with this new, centralized litigation system, say Fabian Koenigbauer at Ice Miller and Thomas Kronberger at Grünecker.

  • 7 Key Takeaways For Litigating Willful Patent Infringement

    Author Photo

    Brian Nolan and Manuel Velez at Mayer Brown explore the impact of the Federal Circuit's 2021 SRI International v. Cisco Systems decision, and six other areas recent parties have focused on when litigating willful infringement in the latest case law.

  • Trademark Ruling Brings Clarity To Product Defect Liability

    Author Photo

    The recent Court of Justice of the EU ruling in Fennia v. Philips, its first concerning the trademark aspect of producer liability in Article 3(1) of Directive 85/374, brings greater clarity to the question of compensation in the event of a claim for defective products, say Radboud Ribbert and Thomas van Weeren at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Appointments Shape EU Unified Patent Court Before Launch

    Author Photo

    A series of judiciary appointments at the EU Unified Patent Court help put the court on track for its April opening, while also reflecting a patent-friendly enforcement system, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Intellectual Property UK archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!