Intellectual Property UK

  • February 27, 2025

    Baker Botts Hires White & Case's Ex-Project Finance Chief

    Baker Botts LLP has hired a new global projects partner to its London office from White & Case LLP, with the new arrival also set to co-chair its project finance group.

  • February 20, 2025

    Vape Distributor Argues Rival's 'Vape Stop' TM Is Descriptive  

    A vape distributor has fought back against a rival's claims that it was taking advantage of more reputable "Vape Stop" signs to steal potential customers, arguing that the mark was descriptive and fair game for others. 

  • February 19, 2025

    Education Co.'s Claim Aims To Stifle Rival, Ex-Worker Says

    A senior software developer has denied claims that he enticed customers away from his former employer using tech updates that made it easier for customers to switch providers, arguing that the true purpose of the allegation against him is to "stifle lawful competition."

  • February 19, 2025

    EU Told 'Skewed' AI Rules Won't Protect Creators' Copyrights

    Several creators' rights groups have urged European Union officials to bolster copyright protections in a pending code of practice for artificial intelligence, warning that the draft rule book is "skewed" toward AI developers.

  • February 19, 2025

    ETSI Debuts New Committee To Support AI Future

    Europe's telecommunications standard-setting body is launching a new committee to develop industry guidelines covering data-intensive tools, as the future turns increasingly toward artificial intelligence. 

  • February 19, 2025

    Tether Co. Claims Crypto Trader Is Withholding Wallets

    A Tether company has accused a former business partner in Tasmanian Bitcoin mining investments of withholding cryptowallets and roughly $5 million in tokens and cash after relationships turned sour.

  • February 19, 2025

    Biopharma Biz Medincell Raises €43M In Global Offering

    Medincell SA, a pharmaceutical technology business, said Wednesday it has raised €42.9 million ($45 million) through issuing shares to investors, as it looks to expand its technology and strengthen its balance sheet.

  • February 18, 2025

    Lenovo Fights To Reinstate Interim SEP License With Ericsson

    Lenovo asked an appeals court Tuesday to reconsider its bid for the English courts to set a short-term cross-license for cellular standard-essential patents with Ericsson, the latest round in the tech giants' global patent dispute.

  • February 18, 2025

    'Mr Muscle' Maker Nixes Chinese Co.'s 'Mr. Strong' TM

    The company behind the "Mr Muscle" cleaning products has convinced U.K. trademark officials to scrap a rival's "Mr. Strong" trademark, after the Chinese competitor failed to offer up concrete evidence that it had put the mark to good use.

  • February 18, 2025

    EasyGroup Loses 'EasyGuide' UK TM Over Non-Use

    EasyGroup has lost one of its "easy" marks after British trademark officials found no evidence that it had used "easyGuide" to market the goods and services it registered for.

  • February 18, 2025

    Door Maker Says Rival's Goods Hinge On Protected Designs

    A door company has accused a rival and its director of infringing its design rights over sliding and bifold door components, telling a London court that they copied its goods without permission.

  • February 18, 2025

    BASF Revives Oil Extraction Patent Amid Rivals' Protests

    BASF has rekindled its patent over a way of boosting the efficiency of offshore oil extraction, convincing a European appeals panel to reject claims by two rivals that the patent does not give sufficient detail about the invention.

  • February 17, 2025

    UPC Vows To Improve Transparency With New E-File System

    The Unified Patent Court pledged in its first-ever annual report Friday to introduce a slew of technical changes in 2025 with the aim of increasing transparency and opening the court up to the public.

  • February 17, 2025

    Lidl Scores Re-Do Over Veuve Clicquot's Orange Square TM

    A European appeals board has ruled that intellectual property officials must take another look at the decade-long trademark dispute between German retail giant Lidl and Veuve Clicquot, a subsidiary of LVMH, over the champagne brand's orange square trademark.

  • February 17, 2025

    Fuji Can't Patent System Automating Managerial Decisions

    European officials blocked Fuji's bid to patent a production system that locks out workers causing low productivity in the machine, ruling that it was just automating a manager's job using a computer.

  • February 17, 2025

    James Bond TMs Under Fire From Dubai Property Developer

    A Dubai-based businessman has taken a shot at multiple "James Bond" trademarks belonging to the owner of intellectual property for the famous 007 spy series, new documents show.

  • February 17, 2025

    InterDigital Fails To Get Wireless Transmitter Patent At EPO

    InterDitigal cannot protect its wireless transmitter technology with a patent after it unlawfully broadened its application beyond the original blueprint, a European appeals panel said in a ruling released Monday.

  • February 14, 2025

    Independence Key For In-House Attorneys At Smaller Firms

    In-house counsel breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday when the Unified Patent Court held that they should not be de-facto barred from representing the companies they work for, but it remains unclear exactly where the court will draw the line for smaller businesses.

  • February 14, 2025

    Top Dutch Court Upholds Bristol-Myers' Apixaban Patent

    The top court in the Netherlands on Friday dashed Sandoz and Teva's latest bid to revoke Bristol-Myers Squibb's apixaban patent protections, upholding an earlier ruling that the patent is valid.

  • February 14, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen Spice Girls star Mel B's ex-husband bring a defamation claim against the publisher of The Sun, a hotel sue a former director convicted of embezzling its funds for breach of fiduciary duty, and comedian Russell Brand face a sexual abuse claim. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • February 14, 2025

    Abbott Eats Up Danone Unit's Challenge To Food Patent

    European appellate officials have dismissed a Danone unit's bid to nix Abbott Laboratories' patented composition for nutritional food, ruling that its special mix of protein and compounds did generate a more absorbable and water soluble product. 

  • February 14, 2025

    EasyGroup Can't Save European 'EasyTaxi' TM

    A cab company has successfully nixed what remained of easyGroup's "easyTaxi" trademark after the Spanish business convinced European trademark officials at the second attempt to slash the scope to only a handful of categories.

  • February 14, 2025

    Monster Energy Can't Block Supplement Maker's 'M' TM

    Monster Energy has failed in its bid to nix a German supplement brand's mark over the "M" letter, with European officials ruling that its clawmark logo might cover the same goods but looked far too different to confuse shoppers. 

  • February 13, 2025

    Conde Nast, Politico Are Latest To Bring AI Copyright Fight

    Conde Nast, Politico LLC and other publishers and news organizations on Thursday hit artificial intelligence company Cohere Inc. with a copyright infringement lawsuit in New York federal court, the latest salvo in the high-stakes battle over AI companies' use of published materials to train their models.

  • February 13, 2025

    Patent Court Rules Out DIY Defense For Attys Party To A Case

    Lawyers cannot represent themselves at the Unified Patent Court if they are a party to a case, an appeals panel at the court has ruled.

Expert Analysis

  • Coordinating Patent Strategies Across PTAB And EPO

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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