Intellectual Property UK

  • May 24, 2024

    The UK Laws That Will Pass Or Fail As Election Looms

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's decision to call an early general election to be held on July 4 has left several pieces of legislation hanging in the balance during the so-called "wash-up" period before Parliament is formally dissolved, while others have been pushed through. 

  • May 24, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen an IT engineer seek permission to search a landfill hiding a hard drive supposedly storing millions of pounds in bitcoin, Glencore take on legal action by American Century Investments, gold payment app Glint bring a breach of duty claim against FRP Advisory, and an ongoing dispute between a solicitor and the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • May 24, 2024

    Chainsaw Co. Stihl Nixes 'Stiga' Lawn Mower Co.'s TM Bid

    German chainsaw manufacturer Stihl has won its fight to block Swedish competitor Stiga AB from registering its "Stiga Stig" branding in the U.K., with the British intellectual property authority concluding that Stiga shouldn't be allowed to take unfair advantage from Stihl's strong reputation.

  • May 24, 2024

    Reckitt Benckiser Gets 2nd Try At Dishwasher Capsule TM

    European officials gave Reckitt Benckiser a narrow lifeline after ruling that its shape trademark for dishwashing capsules lacked distinctiveness but the company could still prove it had acquired it through use.

  • May 24, 2024

    Bayer Loses Bid To Overturn Xarelto Patent Loss

    Pharma giant Bayer AG lost its fight against a slew of generic-drug makers to keep its patent over its blockbuster drug Xarelto, when an appeals court ruled Friday that the drug involved no inventive step and should not be given protection.

  • May 24, 2024

    Tesla Hits Back At InterDigital's Bid To Ax 5G FRAND Case

    Tesla told a London court Friday that it is entitled to challenge the terms of licenses for 5G vehicle technology owned and licensed by InterDigital and Avanci LLC, hitting back at the two companies' bid to have its case thrown out.

  • May 23, 2024

    InterDigital Fights To Duck Tesla FRAND Case

    InterDigital and tech licensor Avanci LLC fought in a hearing Thursday to throw out Tesla's claim that they have failed to offer fair licensing terms for 5G patents for use in its cars, arguing that the automaker doesn't have valid claims against them.

  • May 23, 2024

    Lenovo Loses Bid For 'Sword Of Damocles' Injunction

    A London judge has dismissed Lenovo's bid to hit Ericsson with an interim injunction to stop it infringing an essential patent for 5G technology, claiming on Thursday that the injunction was merely a "Sword of Damocles" to discourage the Swedish company from enforcing international injunctions.

  • May 23, 2024

    Hotel Operator Successfully Checks In 'Siro' TM For UK

    The U.K.'s intellectual property authority has allowed an appeal by hotel operator Kerzner International for its trademark "Siro" based on the argument that consumers were unlikely to confuse it with hotel rival Sircle Collection's mark "Sir."

  • May 23, 2024

    Printing Biz Can't Nix Rival's Serial Number Labeling Patent

    A German printing company has fought off a rival's protests against an amended version of its serial number labeling patent, convincing a European appeals panel that its tweaks did not unlawfully broaden the design's description.

  • May 23, 2024

    PepsiCo Wins 'Rockstar' TM Battle With Spanish Drinks Biz

    PepsiCo has fought off a Spanish drinks company's challenge to its "Rockstar" trademark bid after convincing a European Union appeals panel that its opponent had not made proper use of its "La Estrella Del Rock" sign in recent years.

  • May 22, 2024

    Rolex Can't Stop Watch Co.'s 'Perpetuel' TM Bid

    Rolex cannot block a luxury watch boutique from registering a "Perpetuel" trademark series in the U.K. after failing to prove that consumers could confuse the sign with the watchmaker's "Oyster Perpetual" brand name, officials said.

  • May 22, 2024

    Judge Likens Lenovo Injunction Bid To A 'Hostage Situation'

    A London judge on Wednesday likened Lenovo's bid for an interim injunction to bar Ericsson from infringing a patent it deems essential to telecommunications standards to a "hostage situation," amid a worldwide battle between the two electronics giants

  • May 22, 2024

    UK Gov't Calls Elections For July 4 Despite Poor Polls

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday called an early general election to be held on July 4, advancing the electoral timetable even though his Conservative Party lags decisively behind the opposition Labour Party.

  • May 22, 2024

    UK Music Publisher Sues Distributor To Exit Licensing Deal

    A classical music publisher has accused sheet music distributor Hal Leonard of failing to use a "reasonable effort" to drive up sales and generate royalties by not making digital versions available and delaying the publication of its composers' works.

  • May 22, 2024

    Qualcomm Satellite Positioning Patent Gets Unplugged

    Qualcomm Inc. lost its appeal to revive a patent for an invention to locate mobile devices, after European officials ruled that its claims added extra material that wasn't in the original application.

  • May 22, 2024

    Mars Beats Nestlé In Fight Over Loaf-Preserving Patent

    Mars Inc. has won its fight to invalidate a patent owned by Nestlé for preserving the freshness of food products as a European appeals board concluded that the invention was too obvious.

  • May 21, 2024

    Charity Gets 'K' TM Despite Rival's 'K' For Similar Services

    A charity in Blackpool fended off a mental health company's bid to knock out its trademark after British officials ruled that their "K" letter marks were "strikingly different" despite covering identical services.

  • May 21, 2024

    Vacuum Co. Gets Partial TM Win Over 'Predator Gutter' Name

    A vacuum cleaning manufacturer can register a trademark for "Predator Gutter Vacuum" for management assistance services, but not for vacuum cleaning goods or repair services, the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office has ruled.

  • May 21, 2024

    Yorkshire Cheese Co. Melts Challenge To 'Labneh' TM

    A cheese manufacturer run by two Syrian refugees in northern England has beaten a challenge from a food wholesaler to its "Labneh" trademark, after officials ruled the wholesaler could not prove it had used its marks in the U.K. market.

  • May 21, 2024

    'Makeup For Your Moment' TM Too Promotional, EUIPO Finds

    An appellate board at the European Intellectual Property Office has refused a U.S. cosmetic brand trademark registration for its slogan "Makeup For Your Moment," agreeing with an earlier ruling that the phrase is too self-aggrandizing.

  • May 21, 2024

    Mitsubishi Beats Siemens' European Turbine Patent Challenge

    Siemens cannot void a Mitsubishi unit's patent protections over a gas turbine blade design after failing to prove that the design is not new or inventive, an appeals panel ruled in a decision published Tuesday.

  • May 20, 2024

    Elle Magazine Loses Challenge To Menopause Supplement TM

    Fashion magazine Elle has lost its bid to challenge a supplements company's trademark on its Flavoxelle logo, as Europe's intellectual property authority found there is not enough similarity between the two words or logos to confuse any customers.

  • May 20, 2024

    L'Occitane Blocks Model From Registering Skin Care TM

    L'Occitane has defeated an Italian model's bid to register her "Arboria Skin Care" trademark, with the appeals arm of a European Union intellectual property authority agreeing that the mark could be confused with the French cosmetics company's own "Erborian" brand.

  • May 20, 2024

    EU's Top Court Asked To Weigh HP, Dell Dutch Streaming Row

    Netherlands' top court has asked the European Union's top judicial authority for help in determining if offline copies of streaming content were private copies as HP and Dell fight to avoid fees on their devices to compensate rightsholders.

Expert Analysis

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

    Author Photo

    ​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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Intellectual Property UK archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!