Intellectual Property UK

  • October 21, 2025

    Ex-Luxury Perfume Boss Denies Violating Russian Sanctions

    The former boss of a luxury perfume group has denied breaching his duties by violating Russian sanctions, saying the company was aware of its ongoing business in Russia and the claim is a "contrivance" to justify his removal as chief executive.

  • October 20, 2025

    Perry Ellis Blocks 'G: Gotcha' TM For Travel Bags

    American fashion brand Perry Ellis has convinced European officials to stop a Bulgarian company from obtaining exclusive rights over "G Gotcha" to sell travel kits for toiletries and cosmetics, after showing that shoppers might confuse the products with its own Gotcha brand. 

  • October 20, 2025

    Apple Redactions Ruling May Speed Spats In FRAND Fights

    The Court of Appeal's latest decision in Apple's ongoing patent licensing dispute with Optis is poised to stave off drawn out procedural spats, as justices rule to keep key third-party financial information under wraps in FRAND proceedings.

  • October 20, 2025

    French Court Reinstates TM For Animated Singing Baby

    A French court has reinstated the trademark rights of a famous children's songwriter, ruling that he only filed a renewal request for "Bébé Lilly" late because he was embroiled in a 13-year-long legal dispute and wasn't its registered owner yet. 

  • October 20, 2025

    UK Steps Up Antitrust Probe Into Getty-Shutterstock Merger

    The U.K. antitrust regulator escalated its investigation into Getty's proposed acquisition of Shutterstock, citing on Monday "realistic" risks that a combined $3.7 billion entity could harm competition.

  • October 20, 2025

    UPC Reelects Presidents Of Appellate, First-Instance Courts

    Judges at the Unified Patent Court have reelected the presidents of its appellate and first-instance courts to serve three-year second terms.

  • October 20, 2025

    Market Intelligence Platform Denies Scraping Rival's Database

    The companies behind a market intelligence platform have denied claims that its co-founder scraped thousands of records from his previous employer's database, arguing that all the information it collected is from the public domain and IP protections do not apply. 

  • October 17, 2025

    Apple Prevails In 'Opple' TM Appeal

    A European Union Intellectual Property Office appeals board has upheld Apple's bid to block lighting company Opple from registering a trademark for its name, rebuffing a prior decision that held the public would be unlikely to confuse the two trademarks.

  • October 17, 2025

    Fire Resistant Cladding Makers Battle Over IP

    A building cladding specialist has denied accusations of patent and design infringement, arguing that a rival should lose the IP protections it was relying on because prior fire safety systems had revealed key features of its tech before the filing date. 

  • October 17, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen Johnson & Johnson hit with a £1 billion ($1.34 billion) claim for allegedly selling contaminated baby powder, Carter-Ruck bring a claim against the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and Hewlett Packard file a probate claim against the estate of Mike Lynch.

  • October 17, 2025

    L'Oréal Beats Nivea Owner's Challenge To Hair Treatment IP

    Nivea's owner has lost its latest attempt to quash L'Oréal's hair-straightening patent, failing to convince a European appeals panel that the chemical treatment isn't inventive.

  • October 17, 2025

    Accord Escalates Challenge Over Blood Pressure Patent

    Accord has extended its challenge to Novartis' protections over its blood pressure medication, telling a London court that the original filing underpinning its patent was not inventive.

  • October 16, 2025

    Ubisoft Blocks Game Developer's 'Wardogs' EU TM Bid

    A European Union court has rejected a British game developer's attempt to revive its "Wardogs" trademark application, upholding an earlier decision that it's too close to Ubisoft's Watch Dogs video game title.

  • October 16, 2025

    EPO Says Lawyers Can Act In Disputes For Firms They Lead

    An appeals panel at the European Patent Office has said that lawyers can represent their firms in disputes, even if they are simultaneously managing the legal entity that they represent.

  • October 16, 2025

    'Gummies For Gamers' Too Descriptive For EU TM

    European Union officials have rejected a business executive's application for a "Gummies for Gamers" trademark, ruling that the sign simply describes the goods sold under the brand.

  • October 16, 2025

    Lenovo Unit Partially Blocks Chinese Co.'s 'LiFe Younger' TM

    A Lenovo unit has partially persuaded European officials to nix a trademark application for "LiFe Younger" based on its earlier "Life" marks, as they ruled that some shoppers might mix up the signs because they both referred to the notion of "life." 

  • October 16, 2025

    Jeweler Defends Use Of Descriptive 'Almas' TM

    A jewelry supplier has fought back against allegations by a rival that it has stolen the "Almas Jewellers" trademark, arguing that "Almas" literally translated into diamond in English and was commonly used by jewelers.

  • October 15, 2025

    Trading Platform Defends 'BrokerTec' EU TM Hopes

    A Spanish electronics wholesaler has lost its attempt to shut down a trading platform's "BrokerTec" European Union trademark application, failing to show that consumers could mix up the sign with its earlier "Brokertech" registration.

  • October 15, 2025

    European IP Office Rejects Chinese Applicant's 'Airsky' TM

    Sky has convinced European officials to reject a Chinese entrepreneur's trademark application for Airsky, after showing that consumers looking at the rival's electronic tablets, computer keyboards and microphones would think it was a new line of Sky products.

  • October 15, 2025

    Supplement Maker Loses Dutch Bid To Block Rival's TM Use

    The Dutch Supreme Court has denied a supplement maker's bid to stop a rival manufacturer from using the "Leef Vitaal" trademark, ruling that it should have claimed the name infringed its "Lucovitaal" brand over a decade ago.

  • October 15, 2025

    Iceland Supermarket Revives Bid To Ax Kebab Supplier's TM

    Grocery giant Iceland urged an appeals court Wednesday to revoke a kebab meat supplier's trademark, arguing that the visual representation of the mark is inconsistent with its description.

  • October 15, 2025

    GSK Fights Pfizer's Bid To Nix COVID-19 Vaccine Patents

    GlaxoSmithKline has denied Pfizer and BioNTech's claims that its patents protecting key processes in the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines should be nixed, arguing that they were infringing its IP through the sale of the Comirnaty jab.

  • October 14, 2025

    Creole Records Defends Rights To Bunny Lee Reggae Catalog

    German media giant BMG has fought back against allegations that it has failed to exploit and promote the music of dead reggae producer Bunny "Striker" Lee under a licensing deal, arguing that the owner of the song catalog was actually stealing its revenue. 

  • October 14, 2025

    Royal Mail Wins Postcode Data IP Claim

    Royal Mail Group has convinced a London court that software company Codeberry infringed its database and copyright by obtaining protected postcode data without permission to build up a competing address finder.

  • October 21, 2025

    Bird & Bird Hires 1st Damages Head From FTI

    Bird & Bird LLP has hired its first head of valuations and damages in its London office from FTI Consulting, a new role to help clients make assessments about awards and payouts at an early stage of intellectual property litigation.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    AI-Generated Works Should Not Have Copyright Protection

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    The U.S. Copyright Office has correctly determined that works created solely by artificial intelligence do not qualify for protection, as granting exclusive rights to such works would be unwise for a number of reasons, says Thomas McNulty at Lando & Anastasi.

  • Examining The New UK Service Guidance For TM Proceedings

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    A new much-anticipated U.K. Intellectual Property Office practice notice affects situations where there is no valid U.K. address for service of documents in trademark and registered design proceedings, and will mean rights holders are on notice at an earlier stage of proceedings, with limited time in which to respond, says Nina O'Sullivan at Mishcon de Reya.

  • A Look At M&S' Registered Design Claim Win Against Aldi

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    Adding to the long line of cases seeking to restrain Aldi's attempts to mimic market-leading products, Marks & Spencer's recent success in the U.K. High Court based on registered designs demonstrates that supermarket copycat products may no longer be able to sail so close to the wind, says Alex Borthwick at Powell Gilbert.

  • UK Teva Ruling Brings Patent Remedy Into Question

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    Arrow declarations have been considered an extremely effective tool for patent litigators, but following the recent U.K. Court of Appeal decision in Teva v. Novartis it appears that courts are looking to take a more conservative view, say David Holt and Tony Proctor at Potter Clarkson.

  • How CJEU Case Shifts TM Liability For Platforms Like Amazon

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    The EU Court of Justice's recent ruling on Amazon's liability for trademark infringement in relation to fake Christian Louboutin shoes advertised by third parties on its website may leave web platforms that sell third-party vendors' products alongside their own brands more vulnerable to infringement claims, say Louisa Chambers and Helen Reddish at Travers Smith.

  • Europe's New Unitary Patent System Will Affect IP Agreements

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    Marco Stief at Maiwald discusses key points in intellectual property agreements that legal practitioners will need to consider in Europe's soon-to-open centralized patent court, including regional exclusivity in different contracting member states.

  • EU Medicine Reboxing Ruling Gives Guidance To Pharma Cos.

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    The recent landmark decision of the Court of Justice of the EU in Novartis Pharma on repackaging medicines has provided pharma companies with a much-needed framework, with better protections for trademarks and clearer protocols for handling imported products, say Ulf Grundmann and Elisabeth Kohoutek at King & Spalding.

  • A Look Ahead At Key UK Intellectual Property Cases

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    Anticipated 2023 U.K. intellectual property decisions include robotics, artificial intelligence, and clean energy matters that have also been heard in the U.S., while other areas to watch include global fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory issues, as well as COVID-19 patent litigation, say Tom Oliver and Claire Robinson at Powell Gilbert.

  • Lessons That May Be Learned From The Demise Of Made.com

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    With Made.com going into administration, companies that may face similar challenges should take on board that the earlier adequate preemptive planning is considered, the more financial and legal options there will be to avoid last minute firefighting and to focus instead on strengthening the business, says Eleni Michaela at Faegre Drinker.

  • Teva Case Aims Europe's Pharma Crackdown At IP Loophole

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    The European Commission's recent allegations against Teva signal not only the EU competition watchdog's continued focus on intellectual property violations in the pharmaceutical sector but also its new enforcement interest in exclusionary disparagement, say Robert Bell and Malgorzata Janiec at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Determining Whether To Opt Out Of New Unified Patent Court

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    The new United Patent Court, made up of judges from all European Union member states, will cover the new unitary patent and European patents unless the owner chooses to opt out during the transition period, so patent proprietors must consider whether to opt out for each patent family, say Steffen Steininger and Anna-Katharina Friese-Okoro at Hogan Lovells.

  • 10 Things To Know About The Coming EU Unified Patent Court

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    When the Unified Patent Court opens next year, it will represent a paradigm shift for adversarial patent proceedings in Europe, and practitioners should familiarize themselves now with this new, centralized litigation system, say Fabian Koenigbauer at Ice Miller and Thomas Kronberger at Grünecker.

  • 7 Key Takeaways For Litigating Willful Patent Infringement

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    Brian Nolan and Manuel Velez at Mayer Brown explore the impact of the Federal Circuit's 2021 SRI International v. Cisco Systems decision, and six other areas recent parties have focused on when litigating willful infringement in the latest case law.

  • Trademark Ruling Brings Clarity To Product Defect Liability

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    The recent Court of Justice of the EU ruling in Fennia v. Philips, its first concerning the trademark aspect of producer liability in Article 3(1) of Directive 85/374, brings greater clarity to the question of compensation in the event of a claim for defective products, say Radboud Ribbert and Thomas van Weeren at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Appointments Shape EU Unified Patent Court Before Launch

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    A series of judiciary appointments at the EU Unified Patent Court help put the court on track for its April opening, while also reflecting a patent-friendly enforcement system, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

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