Intellectual Property UK

  • April 02, 2024

    Marks & Clerk Hires IP Pro From Wynne-Jones In Birmingham

    Marks & Clerk LLP has recruited a partner to its Birmingham office for his second stint at the firm as it looks to cement a place among the top specialist intellectual property outfits globally.

  • March 26, 2024

    EU's New Geographical IP Rules Still Need Clarity

    European reforms for geographical indication protections could boost uptake of the niche intellectual property right, but what can be protected under the new category of manufactured products remains uncertain, lawyers say.

  • March 26, 2024

    Casino Biz Seeks To Smother Rival's 'Mini Burning Hot' TM

    A casino tech company has asked a London court to revoke a competitor's trademark and clear the path for it to extend its "Burning Hot" logo portfolio after the rival company blocked a new application using its purportedly invalid "Mini Burning Hot" sign.

  • March 25, 2024

    Eastman Group Says Ex-Employee Lifted IP To Start Rival Co.

    A specialty materials maker has told a London court that an ex-employee stole a valuable database in order to quickly set up a rival company selling paint protection film for cars.

  • March 25, 2024

    Motorbike Gear Biz Hits Back At Rival In Designs Dispute

    A motorcycle apparel company has denied infringing a competing retailer's clothing designs while hitting back at the company in a London court for damaging its business by threatening to sue its customers, documents made public Monday say.

  • March 25, 2024

    Slushie Maker Hits Back At Britvic Over Ice Blast TM

    A slushie machine business has hit back at Britvic over the soft drink giant's allegations that it has copied the "Tango Ice Blast" branding on its frozen drink dispensers.

  • March 25, 2024

    Schuh, Simmi Want To Give Naked Wolfe Designs The Boot

    Two U.K. shoe retailers have accused the owner of the Naked Wolfe brand of bringing meritless intellectual property claims against them, because its shoe designs weren't original enough to deserve protection in the first place.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • 'Biosimilar V. Biosimilar' Patent Case May Be First Of Many

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    ​While the idea of patent disputes between makers of follow-on drugs is nothing new​, the complaint recently filed by Coherus against Amgen in Delaware federal court is unique in that it pits one biosimilar developer against another, say attorneys with Goodwin Procter LLP.

  • UK Patent Law: Hot Topics Of 2018 And What's Ahead

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    English courts have been active in the past year, grappling with patent topics like plausibility and equivalents, and 2019 promises to be another exciting year as English patent lawyers await developments on obviousness, insufficiency and employee inventor compensation, says Jin Ooi of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

  • 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.

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