Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Intellectual Property UK
-
March 21, 2024
Skechers Loses 'Hands Free Fit' TM Due To Descriptive Nature
American sneaker giant Skechers has lost a second bid for trademark protection over its "hands free fit" shoes, with the European patent authority ruling that the brand's logo is merely a description of, or an advertisement for, a feature of the product and therefore not distinguishable.
-
March 20, 2024
Spanish Investment Co. Beats Slovak TM Opposition In EU
A Spanish investment company has won an appeal to revive its trademark application, as European officials ruled that buyers of financial services paid a "high degree of attention" and wouldn't think that the sign was linked to a Slovak company.
-
March 20, 2024
Digital Comms Filings Bolster Record EPO Applications
Companies and inventors filed the highest number of European patent applications to date in 2023, buoyed by marked increases in filings for digital communications and energy technologies.
-
March 20, 2024
EU Commission Builds 'Toolkit' To Fight Counterfeiting
The European Commission has adopted new measures to crack down on counterfeiting aimed at strengthening intellectual property rights by increasing the sanctions for criminal offenses while also designating a single contact point for enforcement issues.
-
March 20, 2024
Boehringer Wins Diabetes Treatment Patent On Appeal In EU
Boehringer Ingelheim saved its diabetes drug patent from the chopping block after a European appellate board ruled that the treatment for patients with moderately damaged kidneys was new and innovative despite eight oppositions.
-
March 20, 2024
EU's AI Act Disclosure Rules Could Spark Further Litigation
The European Union's new artificial intelligence law included some welcome guardrails to protect intellectual property rights. But lawyers say it remains to be seen whether these new rules will bridge the gap between concerned rights holders and AI pioneers.
-
March 20, 2024
Wise Hits Back At Bad Faith TM Allegations From Tech Rival
Payments firm Wise has hit back at a counterclaim from software company WithWise, urging the High Court to reject WithWise's claim that Wise's trademark is invalid because it is overbroad and being used as a legal weapon.
-
March 20, 2024
Google Fined €250M By France For Media Copyright Breaches
France's competition regulator said Wednesday that it has hit Google with a €250 million ($271 million) fine for using content from news agencies without alerting them or payment.
-
March 19, 2024
Crowell & Moring Hires Allen & Overy IP Litigator In Brussels
Crowell & Moring LLP has added a new partner to its Brussels office, strengthening its European intellectual property practice as clients increasingly seek advice to navigate rapidly changing liability regulations.
-
March 19, 2024
Insurance Tech Biz Can't Get Policy Tracker Patent In UK
An insurance tech firm can't get a patent over its automated policy tracker software in the U.K. because computer programs and business methods are not patentable, intellectual property officials said Tuesday.
-
March 19, 2024
New UK Gov't Program Will Promote IP-Backed Lending
The U.K. government said Tuesday it will launch a program to drive banks toward more lending to businesses with intellectual property that can use their patents and trademarks as collateral.
-
March 19, 2024
Danish Medical Tech Biz Can't Dash Rival's Catheter Patent
A medical device company can keep an amended version of its catheter insertion patent after fending off Coloplast AS' claims that the device is not inventive, a European Patent Office appeals panel has ruled.
-
March 19, 2024
Tesco Branding Infringes Lidl TMs, Appeals Court Rules
Tesco failed Tuesday to persuade an appeals court that its loyalty pricing scheme branding doesn't infringe trademarks for Lidl's logo, even though the justices acknowledged the lower court's decision that customers might be misled by the blue-and-yellow signage could be "surprising."
-
March 18, 2024
AI Voice Platform Faces UK Litigation Over 'Deepfake' Songs
The U.K.'s trade association for recorded music has threatened legal proceedings against a deepfake artificial intelligence platform, alleging that the former Voicify's collection of AI voices infringes artists' rights.
-
March 18, 2024
UPC Shows No Sign Of Dimming UK's IP Role — Yet
Lawyers and participants seem happy with the Unified Patent Court so far, but it has yet to move the needle on the popularity of the English courts for cross-border IP disputes — particularly after the U.K. Supreme Court set a crucial precedent.
-
March 18, 2024
Sterlite Says Rival's Fiber-Optic Patent Is 'Mere' Co-Location
Sterlite Technologies has hit back at Fujikura's claim that it infringed a U.K. patent for a fiber-optic cable, arguing that protection should have never been granted because it was a "mere" co-location of known features.
-
March 18, 2024
Packaging Patent Gets Amended For 'Lack Of Inventive Step'
A packaging company has partially succeeded in appealing a decision to uphold a patented method for checking the position of adhesive labels on sheet materials, with European officials finding that aspects of the technique would be "obvious to the skilled person."
-
March 18, 2024
Pharma Cos Sign €40M Deal To Market Hearing Loss Drug
Specialty pharma business Norgine BV has secured an exclusive licensing agreement worth €40 million ($43 million) to sell a medication that reduces the risk of hearing loss in young chemotherapy patients, the drug's producer Fennec has announced.
-
March 15, 2024
Quantum Spinoff Breached Fiduciary Duty In TM Dispute
Quantum Actuarial LLP has lost an appeal to force its predecessor, Quantum Advisory Ltd., to let it use the "Quantum" name as it branched off the business, after a London court found that the actuarial business was wrongly acting out of self-interest.
-
March 15, 2024
Biotech Unit Beats Challenge Over Chemical Library Patent
A unit of a Swiss biotech has won its bid to patent a method for DNA-encoded chemical libraries, after European officials ruled that a challenge to the application lacked substance.
-
March 15, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The past week in London has seen Howard Kennedy face legal action by a London hotel chain, former racing boss Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One hit with a breach of contract claim by a Brazilian racecar driver, and a libel row between broadcaster Jeremy Vine and ex-footballer Joey Barton. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
-
March 15, 2024
Spanish Winery Blocks 'Casa Del Sol' TM Over Similarities
A Spanish winery has successfully contested a rival registering a trademark for the words "Casa del Sol," after the European Union Intellectual Property Office ruled there is a risk of confusion when compared with its earlier marks.
-
March 15, 2024
Powell Gilbert Pros Warn Of Big Changes In IP Litigation
The life sciences sector should brace itself for change as transformative technology creates new disputes, the sector adjusts to the Unified Patent Court and EU proposals to overhaul standard essential patent licensing could cause upheaval, three partners tell Law360.
-
March 14, 2024
Nokia Sues Verifone For Infringing SEPs With Payments Tech
Nokia has sued Verifone in Europe for illegally using its connectivity technologies in devices used to process transactions, claiming that these point-of-sale products are infringing a mix of standard essential patents.
-
March 14, 2024
Ocado's UPC Appeal Weighs 'Reasonable Request' For Docs
Online supermarket giant Ocado has urged the appellate wing of the Unified Patent Court to consider the interests of all sides before granting access to court documents, in a landmark appeal that could set the stage for transparency for the UPC going forward.
Expert Analysis
-
Coordinating Patent Strategies Across PTAB And EPO
The positions, arguments and prior art raised in U.S. post-grant proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board may influence European Patent Office oppositions involving counterpart cases. Understanding the procedural similarities and differences between the two jurisdictions is key, says Drew Schulte of Haley Guiliano LLP.
-
New EU Patent Guidelines May Affect Companies' AI Strategy
As compared to the European Patent Office’s guidelines for artificial intelligence and machine learning — which take effect on Thursday — the U.S. eligibility framework may prove to be more favorable to innovators, say Jennifer Maisel and Eric Blatt of Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck PC.
-
Intellectual Property Caught In US-China Trade Crossfire
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese products as a response to China’s trade practices concerning technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. The U.S.-Chinese trade war highlights the need to approach investments in China differently, taking a broad view of intellectual assets and looking beyond basic legal protection, says Holly White, a consultant at Rouse & Co.
-
Patent Eligibility Assessments: US Approach Vs. UK Approach
Techniques used to address questions of obviousness in the U.K. may prove useful to practitioners addressing questions of patent eligibility in the U.S., say Christopher Carroll and Charles Larsen of White & Case LLP.
-
Surveying The CRISPR Patent War
Following this week’s oral argument at the Federal Circuit in University of California v. Broad Institute, there has been a surge of interest in the long-running CRISPR patent dispute. There are battles raging on multiple fronts, particularly in Europe, with several more on deck in the U.S., and maybe even in China, says Michael Stramiello of Paul Hastings LLP.
-
UK Patent Ruling Sharpens Contrast With US Practice
The U.K. Court of Appeal's decision last month in Regeneron v. Kymab is significant because it aligns the U.K.’s approach to the assessment of insufficiency with that of the European Patent Office. It also highlights, for U.S. companies, the stricter standard to which patent specifications are subject in Europe, say Edward Kelly and Regina Sam Penti of Ropes & Gray LLP.
-
IP Considerations For UK Open Banking App Developers
Since January of this year, consumer-facing banks in the U.K. have been required to make customers' banking data available to authorized third parties in a standardized format. As competition between open banking app developers increases, intellectual property rights will become a key legal tool, say Rajvinder Jagdev and Peter Damerell of Powell Gilbert LLP.
-
The Case For Early Mediation Or Arbitration In IP Disputes
Alternative dispute resolution is one of the best ways to resolve disputes involving patents, copyright, trademark, trade secrets and other intellectual property issues. While not every situation lends itself to ADR, it is more accessible than many parties assume, says Jerry Cohen of Burns & Levinson LLP.
-
International Arbitration In 2018: A Year Of Rule Revisions
Though still in its relative infancy, 2018 is shaping up to be a year of arbitral institution rule updates. Neil Newing and Ryan Cable of Signature Litigation LLP explore some of the more innovative and trending rule changes expected or predicted this year.
-
A Look At Chemical Supplemental Examination Requests
If used strategically, supplemental examination at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can provide a powerful tool for chemical patent owners to add to their armamentarium of options for Orange Book-listed patents when conducting a due diligence analysis of their patent estate prior to Orange Book listing, say attorneys with Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP.
-
Cloud-Based Patent Claims — And How Providers Can Help
Cloud customers may be exposed to liability for open source technologies that are buried deep within their providers’ offerings. In-house legal teams and developers need to be aware of the risk of patent litigation and the extent to which cloud providers can help mitigate these risks, says R. Paul Zeineddin of Zeineddin PLLC.
-
Comparing EU And US Standard-Essential Patent Guidance
The European Commission's long-awaited guidance on litigating and licensing standard-essential patents clarifies what conduct may insulate an SEP owner from abuse claims under competition law, in sharp contrast to the U.S., where the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice have declined to adopt any views on the subject, say Edward Kelly and Regina Sam Penti of Ropes & Gray LLP.
-
Strategic Considerations In Selecting Emergency Arbitration
In recent years, all of the major arbitral institutions have introduced an emergency arbitration procedure, yet studies suggest that parties rarely avail themselves of emergency arbitration and instead turn to local courts in times of crisis. Attorneys with Kirkland & Ellis LLP explore several considerations when determining where to pursue emergency relief.
-
Strategies For Protecting Biotechnology In Brazil And China
Brazil and China have taken important steps to become significant contributors to the future success of the bioeconomy. Understanding options for quickly procuring and challenging patents in Brazil and China can be key for companies looking to expand their bioeconomy investments outside the U.S. and Europe, say attorneys with Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC.
-
How The FTC Has Erred On Innovation Policy Issues
Maureen Ohlhausen, the acting chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, recently delivered a sobering attack on the agency, noting that it and other antitrust agencies have “lost sight of core antitrust principles.” From such a highly competent federal official who is also a recognized legal scholar, this critique deserves our full attention, says David Teece, chairman of Berkeley Research Group LLC.