Intellectual Property UK

  • March 13, 2025

    Skyscanner Rival Hits Back At TM Infringement Claims 

    The operator of a travel search engine has denied that its use of "Fly-Scanner" infringes Skyscanner's trademark, arguing that Skyscanner has taken six years to file a claim because it knew its rival was doing nothing wrong. 

  • March 13, 2025

    Shein Says Bodum French Press, Glass Designs Not Artistic

    Shein has denied infringing a Bodum unit's design rights by selling copycat versions of its iconic coffee press and insulated drinking glasses, telling a London patent court that the copyright for the designs should not be in place.

  • March 13, 2025

    Lewis Silkin Adds Deloitte Legal TM Head As Partner

    Lewis Silkin LLP has recruited the head of trademarks at Deloitte Legal as part of a three-person team move to boost its intellectual property offering to clients.

  • March 12, 2025

    Momofuku Loses UK TM In Battle With Cup Noodles Maker

    A London court on Wednesday overturned a decision by U.K. trademark officials allowing a high-end U.S. ramen restaurant chain to hold on to its "Momofuku" mark, following a challenge by the maker of "Cup Noodles" instant ramen.

  • March 12, 2025

    EasyGroup Loses Remaining 'EasyOffice' TMs

    EasyGroup has lost the rights to four of its "easyOffice" marks after U.K. trademark officials sided with the owner of rival EasyOffices in its latest challenge to the marks, finding that easyGroup had not used its branding for office space rentals.

  • March 12, 2025

    Huawei Claims MediaTek Patents Invalid In 5G Dispute

    Huawei has asked a London judge to nix three MediaTek wireless patents it is accused of infringing by selling 5G phones, arguing that documents dating back to 2011 would have motivated scientists to invent the technology.

  • March 12, 2025

    Iceland Supermarket Can't Skewer Kebab Supplier's TM

    Grocery giant Iceland has failed to revoke a kebab meat supplier's trademark, after a judge Tuesday rejected the supermarket chain's arguments that the meat company's logo is too vague as "pedantry."

  • March 12, 2025

    Florist Says Ex-CEO Diverted Cash Amid False Fraud Claim

    A high-end London florist has sued its former CEO for an estimated £4.1 million ($5.3 million) alleging the businessman diverted its revenue before falsely telling customers that the business was insolvent and committing fraud.

  • March 12, 2025

    'Shorts' TM Too Descriptive Of Short Films For EU Mark

    A European Union court has refused to revive an attempt by a film distributor to get a "Shorts" trademark over short films, ruling on Wednesday that the brand is too descriptive to function as a trademark.

  • March 11, 2025

    Fire-Proof Fabric Maker Sues To Nix Rival's Fire Barrier Patent

    A manufacturer of fire-resistant construction materials told a London patent court that a patent owned by its competitor contains features that were already industry-standard, whilst also claiming that its rival had threatened the manufacturer's clients for using its products.

  • March 11, 2025

    Appeals Justices' Latest FRAND Split Poised For Top Court

    The Court of Appeal's split judgment blocking Tesla from litigating licensing terms for a full wireless patent portfolio against the pool manager presents a prime opportunity for the U.K.'s top court to further clarify the country's jurisdiction to settle licensing spats over standard-essential patents, experts say.

  • March 11, 2025

    Frasers Group Unit Beats Insect Protein Co. 'Wriggle' TM

    A Frasers Group unit has convinced British officials that a company manufacturing cricket-based meat shouldn't be able to sell any products under the "Wriggle" brand, because shoppers might mix it up with its existing Wiggle mark. 

  • March 11, 2025

    Motorola, Ericsson License Terms Clarified Ahead Of Trial

    A London court on Tuesday marked the boundaries of Motorola's 2011 license to use Ericsson's cellular technology, helping set the stage for the Swedish company's FRAND showdown with the Lenovo group later in the year.

  • March 11, 2025

    Roche Gets Illumina Unit's DNA Testing Patent Revoked

    Roche has persuaded a European appeals panel to revoke an Illumina Inc. subsidiary's patent over a way of detecting fetal DNA in maternal blood, proving that the technique isn't inventive.

  • March 10, 2025

    UPC Nixes Tridonic's Infringement Case Over Boost Converter

    Europe's patent court has sided with Cupower in a dispute over a circuit that improves power use in electrical devices, ruling that its technology didn't incorporate a key feature from Tridonic's patent. 

  • March 10, 2025

    Kenwood Chef Maker Loses Challenge To 'Misterchef' TM

    DeLonghi, which owns kitchen appliance brand Kenwood, has failed to convince trademark officials that a rival's "Misterchef" mark would piggyback off of Kenwood's prestige, with officials finding that shoppers wouldn't mistake it for a Kenwood creation.

  • March 10, 2025

    IBM Wins Software Reverse Engineering Claim Against Rival

    A London judge ruled Monday that a tech firm breached its customer agreement with IBM by reverse engineering the computing giant's software to help develop a competing product.

  • March 10, 2025

    AstraZeneca's $1B Drug Protections Too Vague, Generics Say

    Generic drugmakers urged the High Court to revoke patent protections for AstraZeneca's $1 billion Type-2 diabetes treatment Forxiga at the start of invalidity proceedings on Monday as the pharmaceutical companies hope to clear the way to launch their competitor medicines.

  • March 10, 2025

    Harvard, MIT Relinquish CRISPR Gene Editing Patent

    The Broad Institute and a trio of U.S. universities have given up one of their jointly owned gene editing patents after a European appeals panel warned that it would likely invalidate the patent.

  • March 07, 2025

    Chinese Medical Co.'s Suction Device Patent Claim Backfires

    A Chinese medical device maker on Friday failed to convince a London court that a British rival infringed its patent for a suction device to remove kidney stones because the patented technology found in its rival's products was standard practice.

  • March 07, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen an Iranian oil company sued for $95 million, Betfred hit with a lawsuit from a property company and NHS England face a human rights claim brought by a man detained under the Mental Health Act for over 20 years. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 07, 2025

    Flower Biz Hits Back At Rival In Google Search TM Fight

    A fresh flower retailer has denied infringing a rival's trademarks by using its name as a keyword for Google ads, telling a London court that it has stuck to a longstanding agreement not to do so.

  • March 07, 2025

    EU Court Rules Against Forced Transfer Of Musician Rights

    The National Orchestra of Belgium cannot force its musicians to transfer their intellectual property rights to their employer without consent, the European Union's top court ruled, in a move that offers stronger protections for performers in the digital and live-performance sectors.

  • March 07, 2025

    EasyGroup Beats Challenge To 'EasyCasa' TM

    European officials have given easyGroup the greenlight to market furniture and household goods under the "easyCasa" trademark, after ruling that a Turkish lifestyle brand had failed to show it had genuinely used the "Casa" name in Western Europe.

  • March 07, 2025

    Toy Maker Drops EU Trademark Appeal Over Rubik's Cube

    A toy company has ended its appeal against a decision to shun its bid for a trademark in the European Union covering a 3D picture that resembles a Rubik's Cube.

Expert Analysis

  • '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.

  • 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.

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