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Intellectual Property UK
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May 01, 2024
Bayer Gets Chance To Appeal Xarelto Patent Loss
Bayer AG can appeal a High Court decision that nixed a patent for its blockbuster drug Xarelto in the U.K., the U.K. judiciary confirmed on Wednesday.
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May 01, 2024
10x Genomics Gets Injunction Against Rival's DNA Kit
Curio Bioscience must immediately stop selling a version of its spatial mapping kits used for DNA and RNA analysis of tissue samples, after the Unified Patent Court ruled they might be infringing on 10x Genomics' patent.
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May 01, 2024
Social Media Marketing Biz Scores Partial TM Win In UK
A social media marketing firm using the logo "Goat" has succeeded in part in invalidating a trademark applied for by a dance company using the same word, with the intellectual property regulator finding that consumers may be deceived into thinking the dance company is linked to the larger film company.
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May 01, 2024
Game Developer Denies Copying Rival's 'Generic' Racing App
A British game developer has hit back at its French rival in a copyright feud over the pair's mobile games, telling a London court that any similarities between the apps are nondistinctive features that don't merit protection.
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May 01, 2024
MPs Call For New AI Laws To Protect Music Industry
A group of MPs said Wednesday that they are calling on Parliament to introduce tougher laws on artificial intelligence, with a focus on preventing generative AI programs from stealing from musicians and others in creative industries.
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April 30, 2024
Target's Bid To Register Bullseye TM In EU Misfires
Target has failed to register a European Union trademark over its iconic red and white bullseye logo after the bloc's officials ruled that its two "banal and simple geometric shapes" weren't distinctive.
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April 30, 2024
Payment Co. Hits Back Over Failed Domain Name Deal
Several payments companies and their bosses have hit back at claims by a Nuvei Group subsidiary, denying that they broke a promise to use the company's payments technology as part of a deal to use a website domain.
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April 30, 2024
Rival Denies Using IBM Software Secrets At London Trial
Tech company LZLABS denied allegations that it reverse-engineered proprietary technology owned by IBM, telling a London judge Tuesday that its software was not developed using any inner workings or hidden secrets of IBM programs.
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April 30, 2024
Backing For Concord's $1.5B Hipgnosis Bid Falls
Support for music rights company Concord Chorus' $1.5 billion bid for rival Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. dropped among the latter's shareholders on Tuesday, after private equity giant Blackstone swooped in with an improved $1.6 billion offer.
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April 30, 2024
Mercedes-Benz Loses Race Against 'Vivo' Self-Driving Car TM
Auto giant Mercedes-Benz has lost its bid to prevent a self-driving car company from registering its "Vivo" logo, as the U.K. intellectual property authority found that it is not meaningfully similar to Mercedes' own "Vito" brand.
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April 29, 2024
German Pharma Biz Can't Block Rival's 'Palmea' TM In EU
A German pharmaceutical company can't reverse a competitor's "Palmea" trademark protections in the European Union because its earlier "mea" family of marks isn't sufficiently similar to create a risk of confusion, an appeals panel in the bloc said in a ruling made public Monday.
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April 29, 2024
Board Backs German Winery's Appeal Against 'Grizzly' TM
A German winery has beaten a rival's bid to register the trademark "Grizzly" over alcohol drink preparations, with European officials ruling that the winery's earlier "Grizzly Bear" sign over spirits also covers premix ingredients.
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April 29, 2024
Tech Co.'s 'Fraud Fighters' TM Too Descriptive
An antifraud tech company failed to register a trademark for "Fraud Fighters," after European officials ruled it was "nothing more than the sum of its parts" describing the goods it covered.
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April 29, 2024
Hotel Group Blocks Candlemaker's TM Over Confusion Risks
A French hotel chain has persuaded the U.K.'s intellectual property office to refuse a trademark for a company selling scented candles because consumers might mistake the hotel's berry branch trademark for a line of the candlemaker's berry-scented products.
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April 29, 2024
IBM Targets Rival For Reverse Engineering Code At Trial
Computer giant IBM accused European rival LzLabs at the beginning of a nine-week trial Monday of violating its consumer agreement, saying the competitor's "reverse engineering" of some of its software is a breach of contract.
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April 29, 2024
Hipgnosis Backs Blackstone's New $1.6B Offer In Bidding War
Blackstone said on Monday that the directors of music rights company Hipgnosis Songs will back a new $1.6 billion offer by the private equity giant after they said they would withdraw their backing for an earlier $1.5 billion bid from a U.S. competitor, Concord Chorus.
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April 26, 2024
Skechers Loses Bid To Register 'Just Slip In' TM
American sneakers giant Skechers has lost its fight to win trademark protection for its "Just Slip In" slogan, with a European patent authority appeal board concluding that the phrase merely describes the shoes.
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April 26, 2024
Coca-Cola Chews Up Greek Rival's 'Tsakiris' Snack TM
A Coca-Cola subsidiary defeated a rival that wanted to register the trademark "Tsakiris" to sell cereal snacks, after a European court ruled that it would take unfair advantage of the soft drink giant's reputation in Greek potato chips.
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April 26, 2024
Billboard Biz Gets OK To Fight To Opt Back Into UPC System
Billboard advertising firm Aim Sport can have another chance to challenge a ruling by the Unified Patents Court, which held that its decision to opt out of Europe's umbrella patents court system is permanent and cannot be revoked, the UPC ruled Friday.
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April 26, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen budget airline Ryanair file a claim against NATS PLC after the air traffic controller's system collapsed, Mastercard and Visa Europe face group claims from Christian Dior and dozens of other beauty retailers, an intellectual property clash between the publisher of The Sun and ITV, and ISC Europe sue a former director for alleged money laundering. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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April 26, 2024
Luxury Streetwear Brand Off-White Can't Block 'On White' TM
Luxury streetwear brand Off White has failed to convince the U.K.'s intellectual property authority to block a toothpaste brand from registering its "On White" trademark, with the regulator finding that there was no likelihood that the public would confuse the two logos.
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April 25, 2024
Game Cheat Tools Don't Infringe Copyright, EU Advocate Says
Third-party video game cheating software should not infringe game creators' copyright in the European Union if it only manipulates a gamer's input rather than the game's code itself, a legal adviser to the bloc's top court said Thursday amid Sony's dispute with a British gaming business.
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April 25, 2024
TM Applicants Must Prove Lost Reputation, EU Court Rules
A European court said Wednesday that a trademark's reputation can be "progressively" lost over time, ruling that companies must prove another trademark's reputation has fully dwindled in order to register a similar mark in a dispute over an LVMH-owned perfume brand.
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April 25, 2024
Pharma R&D Biz Set To Exit London Market
Pharmaceutical development specialist C4X Discovery Holdings PLC is set to delist from the London Stock Exchange on Friday, as it looks to go private to raise more funds amid concerns about the regulatory "burden" linked to its junior market.
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April 25, 2024
Jim Beam Loses TM Dispute Over 'Pinnacle' Name
American distiller Jim Beam failed to block a trademark for "Pinnacle Gin" because a similarly branded vodka company it owns isn't on the market in the U.K.
Expert Analysis
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Aldi Design Infringement Case Highlights Assessment Issues
The forthcoming English Court of Appeal decision in Marks and Spencer v. Aldi, regarding the alleged infringement of design rights, could provide practitioners with new guidance, particularly in relation to the relevant date for assessment of infringement and the weight that should be attributed to certain design elements in making this assessment, say Rory Graham and Georgia Davis at RPC.
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Generative AI Raises IP, Data Protection And Contracts Issues
As the EU's recent agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act has fueled businesses' interest in adopting generative AI tools, it is crucial to understand how these tools utilize material to generate output and what questions to ask in relation to intellectual property, data privacy and contracts, say lawyers at Deloitte Legal.
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Vodafone Decision Highlights Wide Scope Of UK's FDI Rules
The U.K. government’s recently imposed conditions required for its approval of Vodafone and Etisalat’s strategic relationship agreement under its National Security and Investment Act jurisdiction, illustrating the significance of the act as an important factor for transactions with a U.K. link, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.
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What The EU AI Act Could Mean For Patent Law
As the EU Artificial Intelligence Act has now been endorsed by all member states, companies and patent owners with interests in the bloc may want to prepare for when the act enters into force, including by considering potential subject matter exclusions, says Terence Broderick at Murgitroyd.
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Considering A Practical FRAND Rate Assessment Procedure
As the debate over a fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory rate continues inside and outside courtrooms, a practical method may assess whether the proposed FRAND rate deviates significantly from what is reasonable, and ensure an optimal mix of assets for managers of standard-essential patent portfolios, says consultant Gordon Huang.
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How AI Inventorship Is Evolving In The UK, EU And US
While the U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision in Thaler v. Comptroller-General is the latest in a series of decisions by U.K., U.S. and EU authorities that artificial intelligence systems cannot be named as inventors in patents, the guidance from these jurisdictions suggests that patents may be granted to human inventors that use AI as a sophisticated tool, say lawyers at Mayer Brown.
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Cos. Should Plan Now For Extensive EU Data Act Obligations
The recently enacted EU Data Act imposes wide-ranging requirements across industries and enterprises of all sizes, and with less than 20 months until the provisions begin to apply, businesses planning compliance will need to incorporate significant product changes and revision of contract terms, say Nick Banasevic, Robert Spano and Ciara O'Gara at Gibson Dunn.
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UK Ruling Revitalizes Discussions On Harmonizing AI And IP
The U.K. Supreme Court's decision in Thaler v. Comptroller-General last month has reinvigorated ongoing discussions about how the developments in artificial intelligence fit within the existing intellectual property legislative landscape, illustrating that effective regulation will be critical as the value and influence of this sector grows, say Nick White and Olivia Gray at Charles Russell.
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AI Inventorship Patent Options After UK Supreme Court Ruling
The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Thaler v. Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks that an AI system cannot be an inventor raises questions about alternative approaches to patent protection for AI-generated inventions and how the decision might affect infringement and validity disputes around such patents, says David Knight at Brown Rudnick.
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Acquisition Of AI Tech Poses Challenges For Media Industry
The artificial intelligence regulatory landscape is changing quickly, and media and entertainment companies planning to acquire AI technology through a merger, acquisition or licensing deal should be mindful of potential new compliance requirements and AI-specific insurance products, say lawyers at Covington.
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Cos. Should Weave Metaverse Considerations Into IP Strategy
In light of the increasing importance of intellectual property protection in digital contexts, including a growing number of court rulings and recent updates to the classification of digital assets, companies should include the metaverse as part of their trademark strategy to prevent potential infringements, says Gabriele Engels at D Young & Co.
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Mitigating Compliance And Litigation Risks Of Evolving Tech
Amid artificial intelligence and other technological advances, companies must prepare for the associated risks, including a growing suite of privacy regulations, enterprising class action theories and consumer protection challenges, and proliferating disclosure obligations, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Major EU AI Banking Ruling Will Reverberate Across Sectors
Following the European Court of Justice's recent OQ v. Land Hessen decision that banks' use of AI-driven credit scores to make consumer decisions did not comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, regulators indicated that the ruling would apply broadly, leaving numerous industries that employ AI-powered decisions open to scrutiny, say lawyers at Alston & Bird.
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English Could Be The Future Language Of The UPC
While most Unified Patent Court proceedings are currently held in German, the recent decisions in Plant-e v. Arkyne and Amgen v. Sanofi potentially signal that English will be the preferred language, particularly in cases involving small and medium enterprises, say lawyers at Freshfields.
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Arbitration Remains Attractive For Digital Disputes In 2024
Recent regulatory and digital forum developments highlight that, in 2024, arbitration will continue to adapt to new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, and remain an attractive forum for resolving digital disputes due to its flexibility, confidentiality and comparative ease to enforce cross-border awards, says Peter Smith at Charles Russell.