Intellectual Property UK

  • March 04, 2025

    EU Courts' Broader Reach On IP Muddies Litigation Strategies

    The European Union's highest court gave national courts across the bloc its blessing to weigh in on cross-border patent infringement cases, in a decision that lawyers say could reshape European intellectual property strategy going forward.

  • March 04, 2025

    Trader Denies Unlawful 'Team Move' That Energy Co. Alleged

    A trader has hit back against an "oppressive" £2 million ($2.5 million) claim by his former employer, denying that he was part of an unlawful "team move" alongside former colleagues in the energy investing company.

  • March 04, 2025

    Heineken Pours Cold Water On Virgin's Euro TM For Drinks

    Heineken has persuaded European Union officials to revoke Virgin's trademark over its name that covers several kinds of drinks, proving that the conglomerate had failed to make genuine use of the sign.

  • March 04, 2025

    Accor Can't Nix Developer's £43M Botched Hotel Project Claim

    Multinational hospitality company Accor can't strike out a property developer's £43.7 million ($55.6 million) claim after a London court ruled that the allegation Accor scuppered a hotel project in Scotland by demanding last-minute changes is sufficiently pled.

  • March 04, 2025

    Creators Need New Forum To Shield IP In AI Era, Gov't Told

    The government must set up a new forum to allow creators to enforce their intellectual property rights amid the rise of artificial intelligence, the Trades Union Congress has said.

  • March 03, 2025

    Investor To Pay £2M For 'Unashamed' Software Copying

    An investment firm must pay over £2.1 million ($2.7 million) in damages for "unashamedly misappropriating" a software developer's application designed to help the elderly care industry, a London court ruled Monday.

  • March 03, 2025

    Packaging Maker's Biz Can't Expand UPC Infringement Claim

    Europe's patent court has refused a packaging maker's bid to broaden its infringement action against a rival by covering another country, ruling that it should have filed its request weeks earlier.

  • March 03, 2025

    Nissan Can't Revive European Patent For EV Power Device

    Nissan has failed to convince a European patent authority to overturn a decision nixing its patent for a power transmission device for electric vehicles, after officials sided with German rival ZF.

  • March 03, 2025

    Thai Brewer Gets 2nd Shot To Block Rival 'Singha' TM 

    European officials have ruled that Singha-branded Thai beer might be famous enough to prevent a rival from using the image of a mythological Thai lion to sell toilet paper and market advertising services.

  • March 03, 2025

    EPO Pilots Shift To Electronic Priority Documents

    The European Patent Office has begun to trial a shift from paper to electronic priority documents as it moves toward a fully digitalized process for granting patents.

  • February 28, 2025

    Hague AG Asks Top Court To Reject Puma TM Appeal

    An adviser has urged the Netherlands' highest court to refuse Puma's efforts to stop a rival from using the term "nitro" to market running shoes.

  • February 28, 2025

    Ericsson Rebuked For Denying Lenovo Interim License

    A London appeals court held Friday that a "willing licensor" in Ericsson's shoes would have handed Lenovo a short-term license to use its essential cellular tech, condemning the Swedish company's bid to "coerce" its rival into a more favorable deal.

  • February 28, 2025

    Viacom's Delayed-Broadcast Patent Request Fails At EPO

    Viacom has lost its bid to patent a device that delays the airing of a TV show, with European officials ruling that the features allowing for simultaneous broadcasting and recording for later time zones weren't in the original application.

  • February 28, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen the billionaire Zakay brothers, founders of Topland Group, become embroiled in a legal dispute with each other, Unilever sue three major perfume companies over alleged illegal price-fixing, and the publisher of Vogue magazine file an intellectual property suit against Cornucopia Events. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • February 28, 2025

    Telefónica Suffers Blow In Squabble Over 'E-Plus+' Brand

    Communications giant Telefónica has failed to reverse a decision to revoke one of its "E-Plus+" trademarks in the European Union, marking the latest twist in its tussle with a U.S. technology company over the brand name.

  • February 27, 2025

    Uncertainty Looms As AI Copyright Consultation Closes

    The U.K. government is unlikely to back down from its plans to overhaul current intellectual property law to allow companies to scrape copyright material to train artificial intelligence systems, despite consistent calls from creatives to tighten the leash, lawyers say.

  • February 27, 2025

    Slush Puppie Owner Gets £20M Freezing Order Rescinded

    A London judge on Thursday rescinded an injunction Slush Puppie's owner had won freezing over £20 million ($25.2 million) worth of a rival slurpee maker's assets, ruling that the previous judge didn't know all the facts.

  • February 27, 2025

    Barry Manilow Pushes Dispute Over Royalties To LA Court

    A London judge ruled Thursday that claims by British music royalties outfit Hipgnosis over unpaid royalties against singer Barry Manilow must be dealt with by a court in Los Angeles before proceedings in the U.K. can move forward.

  • February 27, 2025

    Whoop Gets Rival's Sports Bra Patent Revoked In UK

    Wearable technology company Whoop convinced a London court on Thursday to revoke a rival's patent over a sports bra that measures the heart rate of the wearer — though the judge held that the tech would otherwise have infringed the patent.

  • February 27, 2025

    Getty, Stability AI Clash Over Evidence On Cusp Of Trial

    The company behind Stable Diffusion criticized Getty's "piecemeal and obscure" claims on Thursday as the two sides prepare for a summer trial, demanding greater clarity because of the importance of the first U.K. case over training a generative AI model on copyrighted material.

  • February 26, 2025

    Schweppes Wins 2nd Shot At Russian Tea Co.'s TM Challenge

    A European court ruled Wednesday that trademark officials must take another look at a Russian tea brand's challenge to the Schweppes "May Tea" trademark, saying the IP appellate board overestimated the risk of confusion.

  • February 26, 2025

    Makeup Co. Denies Lifting Lash Curler Design

    A cosmetics company has fired back at allegations that it lifted a French plastics manufacturer's design to create its "GrandeFANATIC" mascara brushes, arguing that the protections covered technical features that the whole industry needed to use.

  • February 26, 2025

    Life Magazine TM Owner Trims French Co.'s Bid To Use 'Life'

    European officials have partially nixed a French company's trademark over "Life," ruling that shoppers might think it is somehow linked to Life magazine, which is famous for pioneering photography-led stories.

  • February 26, 2025

    Samsung Fails To Capture 'Photo Assist' TM In Europe

    European Union officials have shuttered Samsung's hopes of getting a "Photo Assist" trademark in the bloc, ruling that the phrase does not merit protection as it merely describes the purpose of the photo-editing software.

  • February 26, 2025

    UK Seeks Input On Modernizing Design IP Protection

    The U.K. Intellectual Property Office has asked designers, legal professionals, trade bodies and IP experts to share their views in a survey to help to inform its approach to Britain's design protection system.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Strategies For Protecting Biotechnology In Brazil And China

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    Brazil and China have taken important steps to become significant contributors to the future success of the bioeconomy. Understanding options for quickly procuring and challenging patents in Brazil and China can be key for companies looking to expand their bioeconomy investments outside the U.S. and Europe, say attorneys with Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC.

  • How The FTC Has Erred On Innovation Policy Issues

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    Maureen Ohlhausen, the acting chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, recently delivered a sobering attack on the agency, noting that it and other antitrust agencies have “lost sight of core antitrust principles.” From such a highly competent federal official who is also a recognized legal scholar, this critique deserves our full attention, says David Teece, chairman of Berkeley Research Group LLC.

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