Intellectual Property UK

  • 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.

  • October 07, 2024

    'Petsure' Appeal Levels Bar For Actual Confusion

    A recent appellate court ruling holding that a pet insurance company's name was too similar to its rival's trademark spells good news for trademark pros, who feared that the initial ruling in the case would set the burden of evidence for actual confusion too high.

  • October 07, 2024

    UPC Adds Patent Pool Manager To Infringement Case

    European judges allowed a patent pool administrator to join an infringement case involving one of its licensors, concluding that the ultimate decision in the case could threaten its ability to demand royalty payments.

  • October 07, 2024

    Louis Vuitton Blocks Signature Monogram Copycat TM

    Louis Vuitton has won its attempt to block a rival from registering a similar trademark to its signature monogram, after European officials ruled the star and flower pattern mark would unfairly take advantage of the luxury French fashion company's reputation.

  • October 07, 2024

    Willkie Tech Patent Litigation Chair Joins Covington In DC

    The former chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP's tech patent litigation group, who has more than two decades of experience litigating computer hardware and software matters for major corporations, has moved his practice to Covington & Burling LLP's Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced Monday.

  • October 07, 2024

    Investor IP Group Extends Share Buyback By £10M

    IP Group PLC extended on Monday its recently ended £20 million ($26 million) share repurchase program by £10 million, a move expected to further lower the innovation and early-stage science backer's share capital.

  • October 04, 2024

    Simply Naturals Sues Former Director, Claiming TM Grab

    Simply Naturals has accused a former director of trying to steal its "sizzling minerals" trademark, claiming in a London court that he was threatening to bring infringement proceedings despite transferring the name rights years ago.

  • October 04, 2024

    Juul Loses Bid To Patent Portable Vape Device

    Juul failed to convince a European appellate board to reinstate its patent for a portable vaporization device because it was trying to sneak in extra information about a heater type and temperature control feature.

  • October 04, 2024

    'Pimp Your Pump' Found Not Distinctive Enough For EU TM

    The founder of a company that makes heat pumps has failed to persuade an appeals board to register a trademark for "Pimp Your Pump," with examiners holding the mark lacked distinctive character.

  • October 04, 2024

    Google Director Denies 'Shorts' Is Brand In Trademark Fight

    A senior Google director said Friday during questioning in a London trial that the tech giant's 'YouTube Shorts' video platform does not function as a brand in isolation, contradicting the accusation of the international film distributor behind ShortsTV that the moniker infringed its trademarks.

  • October 04, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen GMB Union sued by the makers of Tetley Tea after a staff walkout in September, boxer Mike Tyson hit with legal action from a marketing company and the Met Police face a misuse of private data claim from a woman who had a relationship with an undercover police officer. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • October 03, 2024

    Panasonic Chided For 'Indefensible' Conduct In FRAND Case

    A London appeals court ruled Thursday that Panasonic did not act in good faith in licensing talks with Xiaomi for its suite of telecom patents, calling the Japanese tech giant's conduct during licensing negotiations "indefensible."

  • October 03, 2024

    Unified Patent Court Appeals On Merits Double In September

    The number of appeals for final decisions from the Unified Patent Court has doubled month-over-month following the first wave of judgments on merits handed down from the first instance courts, according to the latest case load data.

  • October 03, 2024

    Lufthansa Demands Profits From Power Outlet Patent Breach

    Lufthansa claimed in a London trial Thursday that three avionics companies found to have infringed its patent on a method of allowing airline passengers to access power outlets should turn over all profits from sales of the infringing system.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    AI-Generated Works Should Not Have Copyright Protection

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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