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Intellectual Property UK
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March 17, 2025
Alcohol Seller Can't Get 'Magic Monkey' TM In EU
An appeals panel has rejected an alcohol retailer's attempt to register a "Magic Monkey" trademark in the European Union over beers, deeming the logo too similar to a rival's "Dead Monkey" brand.
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March 17, 2025
Dolby Patent Nixed Over Speech-Boosting Audio Tech
A Danish intellectual property organization has persuaded a European appeals board to void Dolby's patent over a way to make speech easier to hear over other noises in an audio transmission.
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March 14, 2025
Brands Eye Stronger TM Protections In Supreme Court Appeal
The U.K.'s top court will hear a high-profile appeal Monday on whether courts weighing trademark disputes should consider whether consumers could confuse two companies' branding on products after the point of sale, in an appeal that could significantly strengthen trademark protections in the U.K.
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March 14, 2025
Lighting Biz Loses Bid To Invalidate Rival's Handrail IP
A lighting manufacturer lost its bid to avoid liability for patent infringement on Friday after a London judge refused to overturn a rival's intellectual property protections for lighted handrail technology.
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March 14, 2025
BAT And Philip Morris Can't Nix Rival's E-Cig Patent
The owner of the Camel tobacco brand has won its bid to patent a flavor-containing capsule for electronic cigarettes, after British American Tobacco and Philip Morris failed to convince European officials that an existing inhaler revealed its key features.
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March 14, 2025
Wholesaler Denies Gray Market Imports In 'Clipper' IP fight
A British smoking and vaping wholesaler has denied lighter manufacturer Flamagas' claim that it infringed its trademark for Clipper lighters by selling Clipper-branded products in the U.K. without its consent.
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March 14, 2025
Fast Food Chain Can't Change TM To Resemble Rival's
A London appeals court ruled Friday that a settlement resolving a copyright infringement dispute between two rival fast food chains could not allow for "reasonable modifications" to a trademark if that mark then became more similar to the rival's sign.
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March 14, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The past week in London has seen J.P. Morgan face action by the founder of Viva Wallet in an ongoing feud over the company's takeover, retailer Next Group contest a claim by the home ware brand owned by private members' club Soho House, and the venue of the Wimbledon Championships sue a local group opposed to its plans to build new tennis courts on protected land in Wimbledon Park.
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March 13, 2025
Lights Out For German Company's Bulb Design Claim
The European Union's General Court blocked a German retailer's bid to dismiss a Taiwanese lighting company's design for an LED light bulb, with the judge calling the retailer's claims "vague or unsubstantiated."
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March 13, 2025
Tesco Seeks To Limit Lidl Damages Over Clubcard TM
Tesco has asked a London judge to trim the amount of damages Lidl can seek to recover from the British supermarket giant for infringing the German discounter's trademarks through its loyalty pricing program, arguing that its use of the Clubcard logo had damaged its own brand too.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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AI And Copyright: Tracking The Ownership Issues
The rise of generative AI has created copyright and ownership challenges in creative industries, but contractual agreements, intellectual property law and AI-specific regulations can be used to address these issues, says Kimiya Shams at Devialet.
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How Ed Sheeran's Serenade May Have Swayed The Jury
While Ed Sheeran's performance of his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" at trial could not protect him from the subconscious copying doctrine, it may have tapped into jurors' intuitions about independent creation, winning him the copyright infringement suit over the song, says Christopher Buccafusco at Duke University School of Law.
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An Overlooked Tool To Fight USPTO 'Restriction'
Over the last several years, we have seen the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office more commonly impose flimsy restrictions on patent applications under the "one invention per application" rule, and practitioners underutilize petition as a means to challenge them, say George Chaclas and Emily Ferriter Russo at Day Pitney.
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Opinion
AI-Generated Works Should Not Have Copyright Protection
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.
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Examining The New UK Service Guidance For TM Proceedings
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.
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A Look At M&S' Registered Design Claim Win Against Aldi
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.
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UK Teva Ruling Brings Patent Remedy Into Question
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.
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How CJEU Case Shifts TM Liability For Platforms Like Amazon
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.
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Europe's New Unitary Patent System Will Affect IP Agreements
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.
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EU Medicine Reboxing Ruling Gives Guidance To Pharma Cos.
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.
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A Look Ahead At Key UK Intellectual Property Cases
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.
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Lessons That May Be Learned From The Demise Of Made.com
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.
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Teva Case Aims Europe's Pharma Crackdown At IP Loophole
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.
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Determining Whether To Opt Out Of New Unified Patent Court
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.
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10 Things To Know About The Coming EU Unified Patent Court
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.