Intellectual Property UK

  • June 01, 2026

    Viral Labubu Toy Loses TM Protection To Turkish 'Bubu' Rival

    An Italian retailer has lost a trademark displaying the viral Labubu plush toy shown off by celebrities like Rihanna and David Beckham, after a Turkish stationery shop convinced European officials that shoppers were too accustomed to its earlier "Bubu" mark despite the Labubu toy's global craze. 

  • June 01, 2026

    Moldova Becomes 40th State To Join EU Patent Convention

    European officials said Monday that Moldova has officially become the 40th country to sign onto the European Patent Organization, giving businesses and inventors in the country broader access to patent protection after years of co-operation with the bloc.

  • June 01, 2026

    Budweiser Budvar Downs Aldi's 'Buval' Beer TM Hopes

    Czech brewer Budweiser Budvar has convinced the European Union to block Aldi's "Buval" trademark application, proving that drinkers could confuse the two brands in noisy bars and nightclubs.

  • June 01, 2026

    Honeywell Keeps Patent For Eco-Friendly Chemical Process

    Honeywell has persuaded a European appeals panel to uphold an amended version of its patent for a way of producing an environmentally friendly refrigerant chemical, defeating a Mexican rival's quest to void the patent entirely.

  • May 29, 2026

    Hitachi Can't Revive Bid To Patent Voltage-Surge Protector

    European appellate officials have rejected a Hitachi patent for a component that manages surge voltages in power transmission systems, ruling that there wasn't enough information allowing skilled engineers to make the two claimed versions. 

  • May 29, 2026

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

    The past week in London has seen the billionaire who donated £5 million ($6.7 million) to Nigel Farage sue Ben Habib, the leader of far-right party Advance UK, for defamation; Mashreqbank bring claims against three subsidiaries of dissolved private equity giant Abraaj Group for commercial fraud; and the property and investment vehicle of the State of Kuwait be targeted by four real estate figures who filed a miscellaneous claim. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • May 29, 2026

    Squire Patton's New EU IP Head Sets Sights On UPC And AI

    After some false starts, Squire Patton Boggs is handling its first dispute at the Unified Patent Court, and new European IP and technology chief Carlton Daniel could not be happier to see the firm through its new foray into European patent litigation.

  • May 29, 2026

    Nokia Drops UPC Claim Against Lotus Following Settlement

    Nokia has withdrawn its infringement claim against Lotus and other brands owned by Geely in a European court a week after the Finnish firm said it had settled all litigation with the Chinese electric automaker over patents covering smart-car technology.

  • May 29, 2026

    Ferrero Cracks Confectioner's Bid For 'Vlinder' TM

    Ferrero has persuaded European officials to block a Saudi Arabian confectioner from registering the trademark "Vlinder: Chocolate" after demonstrating that consumers would likely believe it was connected to Ferrero's established "Kinder" chocolate range.

  • May 28, 2026

    HSBC Defeats Most Claims In First Citizens' Poaching Suit

    A California federal judge has dismissed the bulk of First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s suit against HSBC alleging the latter induced a mass resignation and misappropriated trade secrets, saying the court still didn't have any jurisdiction over some defendants and that an amended complaint had not cured issues with a previously dismissed complaint.

  • May 28, 2026

    Roche Revives Patent For Heart Risk Monitor At EPO

    Roche has won a second chance at defending its patent for predicting heart failure, after an appellate board found that an earlier cardiac-screening study didn't undermine its intellectual property because it used other testing methods to reach different results. 

  • May 28, 2026

    Brown University Can't Patent Body Shape Guessing Tech

    European appellate officials have rejected a Brown University patent covering technology that guesses a person's body shape to help them shop online or achieve their fitness goals, ruling that it was obvious to provide real height and weight constraints for better accuracy. 

  • May 28, 2026

    Drugmaker Disputes Challenge To Pet Vomiting Treatment

    A Dechra unit has pushed back against rival drugmaker Krka's attempt to revoke its injectable formula for treating vomiting in cats and dogs, insisting the patent has remained valid from the outset. 

  • May 28, 2026

    Stanford Gives Up Cancer Treatment Patent In Europe

    Stanford University has relinquished its European patent for a type of cancer treatment following a challenge from Pfizer and Danish biotech company Genmab, an appeals panel found in a ruling released Thursday.

  • May 28, 2026

    Unauthorized Red Bull Sales Did Little Harm, Wholesaler Says

    A wholesaler has partially admitted that it infringed Red Bull's trademark over its name by selling the energy drinks without authorization abroad, but told a London judge that the scale of the infringement was being exaggerated and the damages awarded should be minimal. 

  • May 28, 2026

    Jellycat Hits Next, Hamleys With String Of Passing-Off Claims

    Jellycat has hit three retailers, including High Street giants Next and Hamleys, in a series of trademark infringement and passing-off claims at the High Court.

  • May 27, 2026

    Property Co. Says 'Praxis' TM Confusion Led To Bad Reviews

    A real estate management company has accused a rival of infringing its "Praxis" trademark, telling a London court that unhappy apartment block residents were confused by the brands and had written negative online reviews against the wrong company about rats and damp. 

  • May 27, 2026

    Toyota Told Century TMs Conflict With Plant IP Protections

    The European Union has trimmed Toyota's applications for three trademarks for its "Century" car brand, ruling that the name cannot appear on goods that conflict with various plant variety protections.

  • May 27, 2026

    Diageo Knocks Out Tech Co.'s 'Soul' TM For Beverages

    Guinness owner Diageo has convinced European officials to revoke a company's "Soul" trademark for beers and other beverages, as officials held the company had not provided evidence of commercial use in the last five years. 

  • May 27, 2026

    Pirelli Gets UPC Injunctions Against 2 Copycat Tire Makers

    Pirelli has obtained two injunctions against two rival tire makers that Europe's patent court ruled had copied Pirelli's special grooves on the tire's central strip, aimed at improving road grip for motorcycles. 

  • May 27, 2026

    Nestlé Defends Infant Formula Patent Against Danone Unit

    Nestlé has preserved a tweaked version of its European patent for infant formula that helps to tackle conditions such as obesity and diabetes, defeating an appeal from a Danone subsidiary which sought to void the patent entirely.

  • May 26, 2026

    Japanese Chemical Biz Beats Challenge To EU Resin Patent

    Japanese chemical giant Eneos has persuaded European officials to block Dow Chemical Co.'s challenge to its patent for a wired resin composition, with an appellate board finding that a skilled manufacturer would easily understand how to reproduce it.

  • May 26, 2026

    Google Defeats Film Distributor's 'Shorts' TM On Appeal

    A distributor of short films lost its appeal Tuesday seeking to force Google to drop its YouTube "Shorts" brand, as a London appeals court upheld a ruling that "shorts" had a broad and descriptive meaning that undermined the distinctiveness of the distributor's trademark.

  • May 26, 2026

    AstraZeneca Unit Keeps Cancer Therapy IP Despite Stada Jab

    An AstraZeneca unit can keep exclusively selling a cancer treatment combining two enzyme blockers, after an appellate board rejected a rival's claims that its ability to reduce common side effects in patients wasn't enough to merit patent protection.

  • May 26, 2026

    Adidas Stops French Biz From Getting 'Les Gazelles' Shoe TM

    Adidas has ended a French company's pursuit of a "Les Gazelles" footwear trademark in the European Union as it demonstrated that the sign could cause confusion with the branding of Adidas' popular "Gazelle" trainers.

Expert Analysis

  • How PTAB Is Applying New Patent Eligibility Guidance

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    Since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office released its revised patent eligibility guidance in January, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has been reversing Section 101 rejections at a higher rate, say Nick Anderson and Braden Katterheinrich of Faegre Baker Daniels.

  • Keys To Successful AI Patents In The US And Europe

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    Unsurprisingly, the World Intellectual Property Organization recently reported that patent filings for artificial intelligence inventions are increasing rapidly. Stakeholders should be mindful of maintaining quality during this filing surge, says Drew Schulte of Haley Guiliano LLP.

  • 9 Ways To Prepare Your IP Rights For Brexit

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    Those with a European intellectual property portfolio should be considering how Brexit — scheduled for March 29 — will affect EU trademarks and registered community designs, says Paula Jill Krasny of Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC.

  • 'Biosimilar V. Biosimilar' Patent Case May Be First Of Many

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    ​While the idea of patent disputes between makers of follow-on drugs is nothing new​, the complaint recently filed by Coherus against Amgen in Delaware federal court is unique in that it pits one biosimilar developer against another, say attorneys with Goodwin Procter LLP.

  • UK Patent Law: Hot Topics Of 2018 And What's Ahead

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    English courts have been active in the past year, grappling with patent topics like plausibility and equivalents, and 2019 promises to be another exciting year as English patent lawyers await developments on obviousness, insufficiency and employee inventor compensation, says Jin Ooi of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

  • 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.

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