Expert Analysis

• Design Rights Can Build IP Protection, EU Lego Ruling Shows

  

  The EU General Court's recent ruling in Delta Sport v. EU Intellectual Property Office — that Lego's registered community design for a building block was valid — helps clarify when technically dictated designs can enjoy IP protection, and demonstrates how companies can strategically use design rights to protect and enhance their market position, says Christoph Moeller at Mewburn Ellis.

• ECJ Ruling Clarifies Lawyer Independence Questions

  

  The European Court of Justice's recent ruling in Bonnanwalt v. EU Intellectual Property Office, finding that a law firm had maintained independence despite being owned by its client, serves as a pivotal reference point to understanding the contours of legal representation before EU courts, say James Tumbridge and Benedict Sharrock-Harris at Venner Shipley.

• Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

  

  Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

• Patent Plausibility Uncertainty Persists, EPO Petition Shows

  

  While a recent petition for review at the European Patent Office — maintaining that the Board of Appeal misapplied the Enlarged Board of Appeal's order on whether a patent is "plausible" — highlights the continued uncertainty surrounding the plausibility concept, the outcome could provide useful guidance on the interpretation of orders, say lawyers at Finnegan.

• UMG-TikTok IP Rift Highlights Effective Rights Control Issues

  

  Despite Universal Music Group's recent withdrawal of TikTok's licensing rights to its music catalog, the platform struggles to control uploads and reproductions of copyrighted material, highlighting the inherent tension between creative freedom and effective rights control in the age of social media, says Simon Goodbody at Bray & Krais.

• Bribery Class Action Ruling May Revive Bifurcated Processes

  

  The Court of Appeal's recent decision allowing the representative bribery action in Commission Recovery v. Marks & Clerk offers renewed hope for claimants to advance class claims using a bifurcated process amid its general absence as of late, say Jon Gale and Justin Browne at Ashurst.

• Ocado Appeal Outcome Will Gauge UPC Transparency

  

  As the sole Unified Patent Court case concerning third-party requests for court records, the forthcoming appeal decision in Ocado v. Autostore will hopefully set out a clear and consistent way to handle reasoned requests, as access to nonconfidential documents will surely lead to more efficient conduct of proceedings, says Tom Brazier at EIP.

• Businesses Using AI Face Novel Privacy, Cybersecurity Risks

  

  Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence are resulting in complex privacy and cybersecurity challenges for businesses, and with the forthcoming EU AI Act and enhancement of existing laws to ensure a high common level of security, key stakeholders should be empowered to manage associated risks, say lawyers at Goodwin.

• Following The Road Map Toward Quantum Security

  

  With the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent publication of a white paper on a quantum-secure financial sector, firms should begin to consider the quantum transition early — before the process is driven by regulatory obligations — with the goal of developing a cybersecurity architecture that is agile while also allowing for quantum security, say lawyers at Cleary.

• AI Is Outpacing IP Law Frameworks

  

  In Thaler v. Comptroller-General, the U.K. Supreme Court recently ruled that artificial intelligence can't be an inventor, but the discussion on the relationship between AI and intellectual property law is far from over, and it's clear that technology is developing faster than the legal framework, says Stephen Carter at The Intellectual Property Works.

• New Reduced EPO Fees May Shift Applicant Demographics

  

  The upcoming European Patent Office fee reduction scheme, aimed at helping smaller organizations access the patent system, is a positive step that could help shift the applicant demographic, which has typically been dominated by larger businesses, says Annabel Williams at Marks & Clerk.

• Mitigating And Managing Risks Of AI Use In Private Equity

  

  While generative artificial intelligence has the ability to transform private equity firms and their portfolio companies, its deployment brings inherent risks, including those presented by the forthcoming EU AI Act, requiring appropriate risk management strategies, processes and policies to be adopted, says Barry Fishley at Weil.

• Aldi Design Infringement Case Highlights Assessment Issues

  

  The forthcoming English Court of Appeal decision in Marks and Spencer v. Aldi, regarding the alleged infringement of design rights, could provide practitioners with new guidance, particularly in relation to the relevant date for assessment of infringement and the weight that should be attributed to certain design elements in making this assessment, say Rory Graham and Georgia Davis at RPC.

• Generative AI Raises IP, Data Protection And Contracts Issues

  

  As the EU's recent agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act has fueled businesses' interest in adopting generative AI tools, it is crucial to understand how these tools utilize material to generate output and what questions to ask in relation to intellectual property, data privacy and contracts, say lawyers at Deloitte Legal.

• Vodafone Decision Highlights Wide Scope Of UK's FDI Rules

  

  The U.K. government’s recently imposed conditions required for its approval of Vodafone and Etisalat’s strategic relationship agreement under its National Security and Investment Act jurisdiction, illustrating the significance of the act as an important factor for transactions with a U.K. link, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.