Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Intellectual Property UK
-
April 25, 2024
Mathys & Squire Recruits New IP Partner To Munich Office
Mathys & Squire LLP has hired a new intellectual property partner in its Munich office from Müller Hoffmann & Partner in its latest move toward delivering all-German advice to clients in the nation.
-
April 17, 2024
Escobar TM Too Shocking For General Public, EU Court Rules
A European court refused Wednesday to let cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar's family trademark his name because of its "highly offensive and shocking" associations with drug trafficking and narcoterrorism.
-
April 17, 2024
Coinbase Loses EU Appeal To Bloc Rival TM
Coinbase lost part of its bid Wednesday to stop an Estonian company bearing the same name from registering a trademark, with a European court saying the cryptocurrency platform cannot block the trademark of the Baltic state business for news services, publishing or education.
-
April 17, 2024
Ireland Pushes Back UPC Ratification Vote
The Irish government has pushed back the date for a referendum to decide whether it should ratify the agreement to join Europe's Unified Patent Court, citing the need for more public engagement on the matter.
-
April 17, 2024
Chinese Vape Maker Accuses UK Co. Of Bumming Designs
A Chinese vape maker has accused a rival of selling products that look identical to its SKE Crystal Bar, infringing its intellectual property by using the "Crystal" name and misrepresenting their vapes to British consumers.
-
April 17, 2024
Intel Urges Court To Revoke Semiconductor's Chip Patent
Computer processor giant Intel denied infringing the intellectual property of R2, telling a judge Wednesday that the chip patent that the semiconductor maker is trying to enforce is invalid because it represents developments already known in the industry.
-
April 17, 2024
Toto's Toilet Patent Flushed Over Obviousness
A Japanese toilet maker failed to secure a patent for a cleaning device placed above toilet seats, after European officials ruled that a skilled person would have eventually combined previous inventions to make its key features.
-
April 24, 2024
Fieldfisher Goes On German Media, Tech And IP Hiring Spree
Fieldfisher LLP has recruited 11 lawyers across its German offices, including several new partners, to boost its intellectual property offerings, and strengthen its position in the media sector.
-
April 16, 2024
IBM Gained Most AI Patents By Far In 2023
IBM obtained more U.S. artificial intelligence patents in 2023 than any other company, with its closest competitors falling behind by more than 300 patents, according to a Harrity Patent Analytics report announced Tuesday.
-
April 16, 2024
Granta Can't Patent Purported Chemical Composition Checker
Ansys Granta can't patent a system that it asserted could estimate the chemical composition of products ranging from toys to engines, as European officials have ruled that the system merely carries out math calculations based on prestored information rather than solving a technical problem.
-
April 16, 2024
Pornhub Owner Makes Fresh Bid To Nix Dish's Patents
Adult entertainment outfit Pornhub's parent company Aylo has hit U.S. satellite television network Dish with a claim to revoke two of the network's U.K. patents, the latest volley in the international streaming technology patent dispute between the two companies.
-
April 16, 2024
Semiconductor Maker Accuses Intel Of Infringing Chip Patent
Semiconductor maker R2 told a London court Tuesday that major tech rival Intel has infringed its computer chip technology, arguing that it has a valid patent over a technology that allows computer processors to avoid voltage spikes.
-
April 15, 2024
AGA Accused Of Trying To 'Control' Aftermarket With IP Claim
A company that makes and fits electronic conversion kits for AGA Cookers has told a London court that the high-end oven maker's copyright and trademark claim is just a bid to control aftermarket sales for its units.
-
April 15, 2024
'MontyPay' TM Denied Due To Indirect Confusion
Monty Global Payments stopped Monty Finance from registering a trademark with the "Monty" name after British officials ruled that there was a risk consumers would think their products were connected.
-
April 15, 2024
Durex Maker Can't Get '4 Play' TM In EU
A Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC unit lost its bid for trademark protection over its lubricant brand "4 Play" in the European Union, with the bloc's intellectual property authority saying that the mark is no more than an "obvious descriptive message" about the purpose of the products.
-
April 15, 2024
Security Biz Rescues 'Smart Living Prepared' EU TM Hopes
A security company can proceed with its "Smart Living Prepared" trademark application, after proving that consumers would not confuse the sign with a British business owner's "Smart Ready" sign, a European Union appeals panel said on Monday.
-
April 15, 2024
'Artisan' Businesses Too Different For TM Confusion
A U.K. wholesaler of artisanal foods has beaten a challenge to the trademark for its logo by an advertising agency after the U.K. Intellectual Property Office ruled the companies have drastically different business models.
-
April 12, 2024
Split PTAB Panel Upholds QinetiQ Fracking Patent
A British defense contractor successfully fought off a legal challenge surrounding its patent covering a fracking device, in a ruling from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that was split three ways over the matter.
-
April 12, 2024
CJEU Grand Chamber To Hear Patent Jurisdiction Referral
The EU's highest court is set to hear arguments on whether a member state has authority to hear patent invalidity defenses for foreign patents, in a rare instance of a patent referral made to the court's 15-judge grand chamber.
-
April 12, 2024
US-based MSD Broke Ban On Using 'Merck' In UK, Court Finds
U.S.-based Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC's use of the "Merck" name on websites and social media breached the terms of a court order barring it from using the name in the U.K. to protect German drugmaker Merck KGaA's rights, a London court ruled Friday.
-
April 12, 2024
BAT Survives Vape Patent Attack Unsinged
British American Tobacco defeated a challenge to one of its European vape patents, with officials ruling that it was innovative as previous inventions hadn't thought of obtaining pressure readings with a direct temperature sensor.
-
April 12, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen footwear brand Dr. Martens hit online retailer Temu with a passing off claim, Welsh soccer club Swansea sue its former head coach Russell Martin, Russian diamond tycoon Dmitry Tsvetkov file a claim against his former business Equix Group Ltd., and U.S. bank Omega Financial Corporation hit African oil and gas company Tende Energy with a claim. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
-
April 12, 2024
6 Questions For Steve Howe, Reddie & Grose's New Chairman
Steve Howe, Reddie & Grose LLP's new chairman, told Law360 that a growing number of clients are turning to the firm for advice on inventions that involve the use of artificial intelligence technology. Here, Howe talks about IP with Law360.
-
April 12, 2024
Candy Crush Creator Pulverizes Rival's 'Candygame' TM
The creator of Candy Crush has won its fight to block a rival mobile game developer from registering a "Candygame" trademark, with a European Union patent authority concluding that the rival's brand could take unfair advantage of its fame.
-
April 12, 2024
Bayer Loses UK Protections For Billion-Dollar Blood Thinner
A London court on Friday invalidated Bayer AG's patent for its best-selling blood thinner Xarelto, agreeing with an array of generic drugmakers that the German pharmaceutical giant had given away too much information in conference materials about the drug before seeking protections.
Expert Analysis
-
EPO Decision Significantly Relaxes Patent Priority Approach
In a welcome development for patent applicants, a recent European Patent Office decision redefines the way that entitlement to priority is assessed, significantly relaxing the previous approach and making challenges to the right to priority in post-grant opposition proceedings far more difficult, say lawyers at Finnegan.
-
Why US Should Help European Efforts To Fix SEP Licensing
The European Commission's proposed reform of standard-essential patent licensing aims to fix a fundamental problem stemming from the asymmetry and obscurity of information about SEPs, and U.S. agencies exploring regulation of foreign regimes should support and improve these efforts, say David McAdams at Duke University and David Katz at WilmerHale.
-
Shifting From Technical To Clear Insurance Contract Wordings
Recent developments on insurance policies, including the Financial Conduct Authority's new consumer duty, represent a major shift for insurers and highlight the importance of drafting policies that actively improve understanding, rather than shift the onus onto the end user, say Tamsin Hyland and Jonathan Charwat at RPC.
-
What's In The Plan To Boost Germany's Commercial Litigation
Lawyers at Cleary discuss Germany's recent draft bill, which establishes commercial courts and introduces English as a court language in civil proceedings, and analyze whether it accomplishes the country's goal of becoming a more attractive venue for commercial litigation.
-
Bitcoin Case Highlights Advanced Age Of UK's IP Law
An appellate court's recent decision in a case involving the copyright of bitcoin's file format emphasizes the role of copyright protection in software, and also the challenges of applying decades-old laws to new technologies, say Marianna Foerg and Ben Bell at Potter Clarkson.
-
Future Paths For AI Inventorship After Justices' Thaler Denial
Anup Iyer at Moore & Van Allen examines the current and future state of AI inventorship in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to hear Thaler v. Vidal, including collaboration, international challenges, and the need for closer examination in research and development-intensive sectors.
-
EU Ruling Highlights Strategic Benefits Of Patent Appeals
The European Patent Office board of appeal recently reversed the examining board's ruling in an application by LG Electronics, highlighting how applicants struggling to escape conflicting objection traps at the examination level can improve their chances of a positive outcome with an appeal, says Andrew Rudhall at Haseltine Lake.
-
Series
In A 'Barbie' World: Boosting IP Value With Publicity Machines
Mattel's history of intellectual property monitoring, including its recent challenge against Burberry over the "BRBY" trademark ahead of the "Barbie" film, shows how IP enforcement strategies can be used as publicity to increase brand value and inform potential collaborations, says Carly Duckett at Shepherd and Wedderburn.
-
UPC Revocation Actions Offer An Attractive Patent Strategy
As the Unified Patent Court gains momentum after an initial period of nervousness around the recently launched forum, more businesses may be starting to realize the value of running revocation actions as an alternative route to knocking out patents across Europe, say Oliver Laing and Georgia Carr at Potter Clarkson.
-
5 Takeaways For Litigants From Early EU Patent Court Ruling
One of the first Unified Patent Court ex parte preliminary injunctions was recently granted in myStromer v. Revolt Zycling, demonstrating the court's ability to decide cases extremely quickly, but parties should be careful in phrasing their motions and sufficiently substantiating them to achieve the desired result, says Antje Brambrink at Finnegan.
-
Copyright Cheat Sheet: Finding Substantially Similar Songs
Using the recent copyright infringement case against Ed Sheeran over his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" as a case study, forensic musicologist Ethan Lustig provides an overview for attorneys of which musical elements do and do not, when altered, create the sense of a new or distinct composition — a determination increasingly sought from experts in court.
-
Barbie Deals Should Remind Brands Of IP Licensing Benefits
Mattel Inc.'s recent licensing of the Barbie trademark — one of the biggest licensing campaigns of recent history — illustrates that, as long as risks are managed properly, intellectual property licensing can form part of the overall business strategy and benefit both parties, say Maria Peyman and Anousha Vasantha at Birketts.
-
Lessons On Cricket Patent History And IP Protection At UPC
On the heels of the creation of the Unified Patent Court in Europe, Susan Bradley at Marks & Clerk looks at how its development is interwoven with the history of cricket, and why inventors in that field have always taken advantage of the latest developments in intellectual property protection.
-
Factors To Consider In Protecting Software With Trade Secrets
With trade secrets protecting subject matter that would not otherwise be eligible for a patent now a mainstay of many multinationals’ intellectual property strategies, software developers have a number of considerations in deciding whether this is a viable alternative to protect their invention, says Dave Clark at Potter Clarkson.
-
A Look At US Injunctive Relief Trends Amid UPC Chatter
While much remains to be seen regarding how the new EU Unified Patent Court will treat injunctive relief in practice, recent data shows that the U.S. framework may be turning in favor of injunction, despite a perception that it can be nearly impossible to obtain in the U.S., say Nirav Desai, Patrick Murray and Roberta Lam at Sterne Kessler.