Expert Analysis

• Don't Wing Settlements: Lessons From Morley's TM Ruling

  

  In Morley's v. Sivakumar, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court recently found that a fast-food franchiser had breached a fried chicken franchise's trademark rights, despite a prior settlement agreement, offering lessons on drafting express terms to ensure IP protection, say Nessa Khandaker and Clare Cornell at Finnegan.

• Analyzing The Merits Threshold In Interim Injunction Ruling

  

  In Kuznetsov v. War Group, the High Court recently dismissed an interim injunction application, reminding practitioners to be mindful of the possibility that they may be required to meet a higher threshold merits test, say Mark Cooper and Tom Parry at Eversheds Sutherland.

• Use Or Lose It: European TM Ruling Stresses 'Genuine Use'

  

  The European Union General Court recently dismissed an action to revoke trademark protections for a lack of use in Sta Grupa v. EU Intellectual Property Office, offering significant insight into the intricacies of assessing evidence of genuine use in revocation actions, says Sumi Nadarajah at FRKelly.

• Decoding Plans To Simplify The Transfer Of Undertakings Law

  

  The prior Conservative government's proposed reforms to the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations to simplify processes protecting employee rights have generally been welcomed, but the fact that Labour is now in power casts significant doubt on whether they will be pursued, says Robert Forsyth at Michelmores.

• Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Intra-EU Enforcement Trends

  

  Hungary recently declared a distinct stance on the European Court of Justice's 2021 ruling in Moldavia v. Komstroy on intra-EU arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty, highlighting a critical divergence in the bloc on enforcing investment awards and the complexities of balancing regional uniformity with international obligations, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

• Adjudication Dispute Ruling Elucidates Merit Of Cross-Claims

  

  In Morganstone v. Birkemp, the High Court recently found that an adjudicator's refusal to consider cross-claims outside the scope of an interim payment breached natural justice, highlighting inherent risks in the adjudication process, including that not all decisions will be enforced automatically, say Ryland Ash and Jonathan Clarke at Watson Farley.

• Employer Lessons From Teacher's Menopause Bias Win

  

  A Scottish employment tribunal’s recent decision to award a teacher over £60,000 ($77,829) for unfair dismissal is a reminder that menopausal symptoms can amount to a disability, and together with potentially stronger measures from the new Labour government, should prompt all employers to implement effective menopause support policies, say Ellie Gelder and Kelly Thomson at RPC.

• Why Ukraine Aircraft Insurance Case Failed To Take Off In UK

  

  In Aercap v. PJSC Insurance, the High Court decided the claimants could not avoid an exclusive jurisdiction clause and advance their case in England rather than Ukraine, and the reasoning is likely to be of relevance in future jurisdiction disputes, say Abigail Healey and Genevieve Douglas at Quillon Law.

• What UK Digital Markets Act Will Mean For Competition Law

  

  The new Digital Markets Act’s reforms will strengthen the Competition and Markets Authority's investigatory and enforcement powers across its full remit of merger control and antitrust investigations, representing a seismic shift in the U.K. competition and consumer law landscape, say lawyers at Travers Smith.

• UK Supreme Court Confirms Limits To Arbitration Act Appeals

  

  Every year, disappointed parties come out of U.K.-seated arbitrations and try to seek redress in the English courts, but the U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision in Sharp v. Viterra serves as a reminder of the strict restrictions on appeals brought under the Arbitration Act, says Mark Handley at Duane Morris.

• Examining The EU Sanctions Directive Approach To Breaches

  

  In criminalizing sanctions violations and harmonizing the rules on breaches, a new European Union directive will bring significant change and likely increase enforcement risks across the EU, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.

• Trends, Tips From 7 Years Of EPO Antibody Patent Appeals

  

  Recent years of European Patent Office decisions reveal some surprising differences between appeals involving therapeutic antibody patents and those for other technologies, offering useful insight into this developing area of European case law for future antibody patent applicants, say Alex Epstein and Jane Evenson at CMS.

• 4 Takeaways From Biotech Patent Invalidity Ruling

  

  The recent Patents Court decision in litigation between Advanced Cell Diagnostics and Molecular Instruments offers noteworthy commentary on issues related to experiments done in the ordinary course of business, joint importation, common general knowledge and mindset, and mosaicking for anticipation, say Nessa Khandaker and Darren Jiron at Finnegan.

• Why Reperforming Loan Securitization In UK And EU May Rise

  

  The recently published new U.K. securitization rules will largely bring the U.K.’s nonperforming loan regime in line with the European Union, and together with the success of EU and U.K. banks in reducing loan ratios, reperforming securitizations may feature more prominently in relevant markets going forward, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.

• What French Watchdog Ruling Means For M&A Landscape

  

  Although ultimately dismissed due to lack of evidence, the French competition authority’s recent post-closing review of several nonreportable mergers is a landmark case that highlights the increased complexity of such transactions, and is further testament to the European competition authorities’ willingness to expand their toolkit to address below-threshold M&As, say lawyers at Cleary.