Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Intellectual Property UK
-
March 25, 2024
Virgin Seeks Full $200M In Train Brand Feud After $115M Win
Virgin Enterprises Ltd. has sued Brightline Holdings LLC for the full $200 million exit fee for backing out of its train brand licensing deal after already winning $115 million, arguing in documents made public on Monday that it's owed a boosted exit fee because of a change in control of the U.S. rail operator.
-
March 22, 2024
Financial Analyst Org. Prevails In Clash Over 'CEFA' TM
The European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies won its latest bid to register a trademark for "CEFA Certified European Financial Analyst" after a European court ruled that earlier examiners didn't consider key evidence.
-
March 22, 2024
US Manufacturer Partially Wins Appeal For 'Presto-Tap' TM
Engineered Controls International LLC can register the trademark "Presto-Tap" over most of the services it had applied for, the U.K.'s Intellectual Property Office has concluded, ruling that a French company's "Presto" sign was stamped on very different products.
-
March 22, 2024
Top Dutch Court Blocks Russia's Last Bid For Vodka TMs
Former Yukos Oil Co. shareholders said Friday that the Netherlands' top court has thrown out Russia's final bid to stop their seizure of over a dozen renowned Russian vodka trademarks in an effort to enforce $50 billion in arbitral awards.
-
March 22, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen the BBC and Wall to Wall Media hit with a passing off lawsuit by musician BOSSIIE, Poundland parent company Pepco Group file a commercial fraud claim against several mobile network giants, family law specialists Alexiou Fisher Philipps LLP start proceedings against former oil trader Michael Prest, and a transgender lawyer file a libel claim against a blogger. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
-
March 22, 2024
Osborne Clarke's Arty Rajendra On The Future Of FRAND
Arty Rajendra of Osborne Clarke LLP was instrumental in securing a win in one of the most influential patent cases in recent memory — the U.K. Supreme Court ruling that English courts can set global licensing rates for patents deemed essential to European telecoms standards.
-
March 22, 2024
Nokia Unit Doubles Down On Amazon IP Infringement Claim
A Nokia subsidiary has reaffirmed its claim that Amazon infringed its patents with a "household sharing" feature on its Prime Video service, telling a London court that the company is not entitled to a license over its patent portfolio.
-
March 21, 2024
Plant-Based Meat Biz Cooks Rival In 'Meat Zero' EU TM Feud
A Thai food company has fought off a rival's challenge to its "Meat Zero" trademark bid, with a European Union appeals panel saying in a newly public decision that there is not enough chance of confusion with a competitor's "ZeroMeat" sign.
-
March 21, 2024
Banksy Co. Calls Instagram Post True In £1.3M Libel Case
The company that manages anonymous street artist Banksy has defended a £1.35 million ($1.7 million) claim that he posted a defamatory Instagram post about a licensing company using his artwork on clothing without his permission, saying it was substantially true.
-
March 21, 2024
Famed Retailer's 1930s TM Can't Stop Modern Registration
A Slovak clothing brand has fended off attacks from the grandchildren of a famed Czechoslovakian retailer from the 1930s after a European court ruled that past prestige could not prevent the name Nehera from being registered seven decades later.
-
March 21, 2024
Lenovo Can't Get Interim FRAND Rate For InterDigital SEPs
Lenovo on Thursday failed to convince a London court to rule that an interim license for a suite of InterDigital telecommunications patents was fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory in the latest chapter in the two companies' global dispute over standard-essential patents.
-
March 21, 2024
Skechers Loses 'Hands Free Fit' TM Due To Descriptive Nature
American sneaker giant Skechers has lost a second bid for trademark protection over its "hands free fit" shoes, with the European patent authority ruling that the brand's logo is merely a description of, or an advertisement for, a feature of the product and therefore not distinguishable.
-
March 20, 2024
Spanish Investment Co. Beats Slovak TM Opposition In EU
A Spanish investment company has won an appeal to revive its trademark application, as European officials ruled that buyers of financial services paid a "high degree of attention" and wouldn't think that the sign was linked to a Slovak company.
-
March 20, 2024
Digital Comms Filings Bolster Record EPO Applications
Companies and inventors filed the highest number of European patent applications to date in 2023, buoyed by marked increases in filings for digital communications and energy technologies.
-
March 20, 2024
EU Commission Builds 'Toolkit' To Fight Counterfeiting
The European Commission has adopted new measures to crack down on counterfeiting aimed at strengthening intellectual property rights by increasing the sanctions for criminal offenses while also designating a single contact point for enforcement issues.
-
March 20, 2024
Boehringer Wins Diabetes Treatment Patent On Appeal In EU
Boehringer Ingelheim saved its diabetes drug patent from the chopping block after a European appellate board ruled that the treatment for patients with moderately damaged kidneys was new and innovative despite eight oppositions.
-
March 20, 2024
EU's AI Act Disclosure Rules Could Spark Further Litigation
The European Union's new artificial intelligence law included some welcome guardrails to protect intellectual property rights. But lawyers say it remains to be seen whether these new rules will bridge the gap between concerned rights holders and AI pioneers.
-
March 20, 2024
Wise Hits Back At Bad Faith TM Allegations From Tech Rival
Payments firm Wise has hit back at a counterclaim from software company WithWise, urging the High Court to reject WithWise's claim that Wise's trademark is invalid because it is overbroad and being used as a legal weapon.
-
March 20, 2024
Google Fined €250M By France For Media Copyright Breaches
France's competition regulator said Wednesday that it has hit Google with a €250 million ($271 million) fine for using content from news agencies without alerting them or payment.
-
March 19, 2024
Crowell & Moring Hires Allen & Overy IP Litigator In Brussels
Crowell & Moring LLP has added a new partner to its Brussels office, strengthening its European intellectual property practice as clients increasingly seek advice to navigate rapidly changing liability regulations.
-
March 19, 2024
Insurance Tech Biz Can't Get Policy Tracker Patent In UK
An insurance tech firm can't get a patent over its automated policy tracker software in the U.K. because computer programs and business methods are not patentable, intellectual property officials said Tuesday.
-
March 19, 2024
New UK Gov't Program Will Promote IP-Backed Lending
The U.K. government said Tuesday it will launch a program to drive banks toward more lending to businesses with intellectual property that can use their patents and trademarks as collateral.
-
March 19, 2024
Danish Medical Tech Biz Can't Dash Rival's Catheter Patent
A medical device company can keep an amended version of its catheter insertion patent after fending off Coloplast AS' claims that the device is not inventive, a European Patent Office appeals panel has ruled.
-
March 19, 2024
Tesco Branding Infringes Lidl TMs, Appeals Court Rules
Tesco failed Tuesday to persuade an appeals court that its loyalty pricing scheme branding doesn't infringe trademarks for Lidl's logo, even though the justices acknowledged the lower court's decision that customers might be misled by the blue-and-yellow signage could be "surprising."
-
March 18, 2024
AI Voice Platform Faces UK Litigation Over 'Deepfake' Songs
The U.K.'s trade association for recorded music has threatened legal proceedings against a deepfake artificial intelligence platform, alleging that the former Voicify's collection of AI voices infringes artists' rights.
Expert Analysis
-
US Patent Practice Drifting Toward Approach Prevalent Abroad
Post-Alice cases on technical problems and technical solutions show that a problem-solution standard similar to the one adopted in Europe, Australia, China and Japan is seeing express endorsement by U.S. courts adjudicating Section 101 challenges, say Gurneet Singh and Harold Laidlaw of Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC.
-
Tips For Addressing The IP Challenges Of 3-D Printing: Part 1
The intellectual property rights of both manufacturers that use 3-D printing and manufacturers that don't may suffer through claim drafting that does not take into account the opportunities provided by 3-D manufacturing, say attorneys with Marks & Clerk.
-
EU Unified Patent Court Will Proceed In 2017 — Now What?
Although it is sensible to be cautious and plan accordingly, we believe that the European Union's Unified Patent Court will, after a possibly extended teething period, become a significant forum in which patents are litigated, say Trevor Cook and Anthony Trenton, leaders of WilmerHale's IP litigation practice in Europe.
-
Comparing Patent Quality At The USPTO And EPO
In this latest article in an ongoing series on patent quality, Professor Colleen Chien of Santa Clara University School of Law and Professor Jay Kesan of University of Illinois College of Law provide a snapshot of comparative patent inputs, processes and outcomes at the European Patent Office and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
-
Brexit And Supplemental Protection Certificates
The procedure for applying for patents through the European Patent Office will be entirely unaffected by Brexit because the EPO was established by a separate treaty unrelated to the European Union. EU law, however, is critical to the acquisition and enforcement of other intellectual property rights, including supplemental protection certificates, say William Hubbard and Barry Herman of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP.
-
Q&A With GAO Directors: Improving Patent Quality
Overall, we were impressed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's commitment to improving patent quality through their Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative. However, we still recommended that the USPTO take a number of actions, say John Neumann and Frank Rusco of the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
-
EU Court Brings New Copyright Liability For Linked Material
The EU Court of Justice recently ruled that websites that merely link to infringing material can be liable for copyright infringement. If GS Media v. Sanoma stands, it threatens to disrupt common practices on a wide variety of websites and social media platforms, say Jennifer Stanley and Liwen Mah of Fenwick & West LLP.
-
Best Of Times And Worst Of Times For International IP
While the intellectual property environment is healthy, the international trade environment is not. The troubling situation raises the question of whether prevailing anti-trade sentiment will undercut IP harmonization progress and jeopardize the future of the global IP system, say Jay Erstling and Amy Salmela of Patterson Thuente Pedersen PA.
-
The Complicated Role Of Copyright In EU Pay-TV Case
While the European Commission's decision to close its antitrust investigation of Paramount Pictures does not mark the end of the pay-TV investigation, which continues against other studios and broadcasters, the history of the case and the terms of this settlement provide an interesting insight into the EC’s current views on the interaction between competition law and copyright, say Becket McGrath and Trupti Reddy of Cooley LLP.
-
Deciding Where To File Patents Internationally In 2016
Staying tethered to old patent filing strategies can soothe the cognitive dissonance created by a rapidly changing world. But applicants should resist the siren song of the old standbys to optimally adapt their patent portfolios to a world in economic and political flux, says Stephen Keefe, patent counsel at the Getinge Group.
-
What Brexit Means For EU Patents And Trademarks
Until the end of the negotiation period that will follow the Brexit vote, EU laws will continue to apply in the U.K., and intellectual property owners will likely experience no change in their rights in the U.K. until at least 2018, say Peter Pappas and Karissa Blyth of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP.
-
7 Reasons Revocation In EU Could Be As Popular As IPR In US
In addition to providing a forum for centralized enforcement of European patents, the Unified Patent Court will offer a new opportunity for challengers to invalidate a European patent centrally in a single action. There are some similarities between UPC revocation actions and the hugely successful inter partes reviews in the U.S., say Leythem Wall and Hazel Ford of Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP.
-
UK Supreme Court Clarifies Scope Of EU Design Protection
The U.K. Supreme Court's reasoning in a dispute involving children’s suitcase manufacturers raises important points for those filing community registered design right applications in Europe, says Dafydd Bevan of Marks & Clerk.
-
A New Dawn For European Patents
The creation of a new European Unified Patent Court and a new patent with unitary effect — expected to come into force next year — is the most important change in the European patent system since the European Patent Convention came into effect in October 1977. It will fundamentally change the international patent litigation landscape, say attorneys with Jones Day.
-
A Successful Follow-On Inter Partes Review Petition
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's recent decision in World Bottling Cap shows that a second petition for inter partes review will be considered by the PTAB when the facts and additional prior art warrant, says Ted Baroody of Carstens & Cahoon LLP.