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Âé¶¹´«Ã½ UK

  • March 24, 2025

    Spacecraft Propulsion Tech Isn't Patentable, Judge Rules

    A London judge has refused to order the grant of a patent over a purported way of propelling spacecraft using magnets, upholding an earlier decision that the tech has no industrial application because it breaches the laws of physics.

  • March 21, 2025

    UK Licensing Group Allows AI Use Of Copyrighted Content

    The Copyright Licensing Agency will allow both private and public customers to use its members' material to prompt AI models — though not to train them.

  • March 21, 2025

    Shein Added To E-Commerce IP Enforcement List

    The U.K.'s Âé¶¹´«Ã½ Office has updated guidance for rightsholders looking to crack down on copycat products listed on Chinese e-commerce giant Shein.

  • March 21, 2025

    Bose Headphone Patent Appeal Falls Flat At EPO

    Bose Corp. left a European patent office appeal board empty-handed after its attempt to overturn a decision scrapping its headphones patent, with officials echoing the lower board's finding that the design lacked originality.

  • March 21, 2025

    Huawei Gets 2nd Shot At Patenting Data Migration Tech

    European appellate officials have given Huawei a second chance at securing a patent for transferring data between devices, ruling that previous examiners had blindsided the Chinese firm by relying on new evidence in their final decision. 

  • March 21, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen a sub-postmaster sue the Post Office and Fujitsu, Russian insurer Ingosstrakh hit the Financial Times with a defamation claim, and Britvic-owned Robinsons Soft Drinks file a passing off claim against Aldi. Here, Âé¶¹´«Ã½360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 20, 2025

    Dutch Bioscience Giant Loses 2 Infant Formula Patents

    A London court on Thursday rejected the bulk of Dutch bioscience giant DSM's claim that its rivals infringed its microbial oil patents in the U.K., ruling that two of its patents over the infant formula ingredient are invalid.

  • March 20, 2025

    Mercedes-Benz's Bid For SUV Silhouette TM Derails In EU

    A European court has rejected Mercedes-Benz Group's appeal to overturn a decision scrapping its bid for a trademark showing an off-road vehicle driving uphill, finding that the image was too run-of-the-mill to justify trademark protection.

  • March 20, 2025

    Thyssenkrupp Wins 2nd Shot To Patent Phoned Elevator Unit

    European officials have given Thyssenkrupp's elevator unit a second shot at securing a patent for a method of operating an elevator using a phone, rejecting a challenge from rival Otis Elevator.

  • March 20, 2025

    PE Firm Says Ex-Exec Stole Data, Poached Staff And Clients

    A mining private equity firm has sued a former vice president for £140,000 ($181,000) in a London court, alleging that the executive stole confidential documents, and tried to take the company's business and poach its staff after he left the company.

  • March 20, 2025

    Zaha Hadid Can't Renew Bid To Exit IP Licensing Deal

    Zaha Hadid's architectural firm cannot revive its bid to escape a deal signed before her death in 2016 that gave the practice a license to use her trademarks, as a judge ruled Thursday that it had no prospect of succeeding.

  • March 19, 2025

    BMW Can't Put Brakes On Toyota's Car Panel Patent In Europe

    Toyota has steered clear of BMW's attempt to revoke its European patent over a car panel that helps withstand the impact of a crash, convincing an appeals panel in a ruling released Wednesday that the design is both new and inventive.

  • March 19, 2025

    Oatly Heads To UK's Top Court With Battle Over 'Post Milk' TM

    The U.K.'s top court will weigh in on whether oat drink maker Oatly AB should be barred from registering the trademark "Post Milk Generation" under retained European Union law that restricts certain uses of the word "milk" to dairy products.

  • March 19, 2025

    Medtronic, Abbott Block Boston Scientific Heart Valve IP

    European officials have nixed a Boston Scientific patent for a stent to replace diseased heart valves, ruling that it was unclear how its frame was meant to maintain an elliptical shape when some valve openings have different shapes.

  • March 19, 2025

    Patent Court Bats Away Roku's Challenge To Its Legal Footing

    The Unified Patent Court has rebuffed Roku's attempt to dodge two infringement claims from Dolby and a patent trust by taking aim at the rules underpinning the court's jurisdiction.

  • March 19, 2025

    Huawei Loses Bid To Move MediaTek Patent Dispute To China

    A London court has refused to pause a patent dispute between Huawei and MediaTek, ruling that parallel proceedings in China were too narrow to justify pausing MediaTek's bid for a global license.

  • March 19, 2025

    Energy Co. Accuses Ex-Lead Of Taking Secrets To Rival Outfit

    An energy tech company has sued a former senior employee in a London court for breaching his contract, alleging he took confidential information about its software to help build a rival product at a competitor.

  • March 18, 2025

    ApeCoin Biz's Trademark Pared Back In Battle With Retailer

    European officials have blocked a company connected to the Bored Ape NFT from registering a trademark for certain uses of "Ape Coin," ruling that Italian fashion retailer Coin had shown it had already cornered large markets.

  • March 18, 2025

    Umbro Says TM Fights Should Factor In Confusion After Sale

    The owners of the Umbro trademark told the U.K.'s top court Tuesday that judges should take into account real world situations when determining if one brand can be confused for another, closing a high-profile appeal on how far trademark protections stretch.

  • March 18, 2025

    MSD Challenges Finding It Broke Ban On Using 'Merck' In UK

    Pharmaceuticals giant Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC urged an appeals court Tuesday to overturn a declaration that it breached the terms of a 2020 injunction prohibiting it from using the word "Merck" to target U.K. consumers, arguing that the declaration was improperly used instead of contempt proceedings.

  • March 18, 2025

    AstraZeneca Unit Fights Amgen, Samsung Over Soliris Patent

    An AstraZeneca subsidiary sought on Tuesday to prevent Amgen and Samsung Bioepis from selling drugs similar to its Soliris product, claiming at a London court that the two companies' drugs infringe a patent it owns over its blockbuster antibody eculizumab.

  • March 18, 2025

    Google Fails To Get Trademark Over Peace Sign In EU

    European Union officials have rebuffed Google's attempt to get a trademark over an image of a hand showing a peace sign, ruling that the logo isn't distinctive enough.

  • March 17, 2025

    Shoemaker Urges Justices To Ax 'Absurd' TM Confusion Test

    A French footwear company urged the U.K. Supreme Court on Monday to upend a ruling that it infringed Umbro's famous "double diamond" trademark, arguing that the decision provides "no workable limit" on situations where consumers' brand confusion after the point of sale could be a problem.

  • March 17, 2025

    Chevron Phillips Wins Appeal For Polymer-Making Patent

    European officials have regranted Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. rights over a patent for making polymers that are then processed into industrial plastics, ruling that a seventh request to edit its claims had finally made its method worthy of protection.

  • March 17, 2025

    Brand Management Biz Can't Register 'Tech One' TM

    U.K. trademark officials have tossed a Brazilian brand management company's bid to register its trademark "Tech One" for anti-theft alarms and heaters after finding that it clashed with a Finnish decorating supply store's 'Tec 1' trademark.

Expert Analysis

  • UK Top Court Ruling May Be Problematic For Global SEP Suits

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    There are several reasons to question the wisdom of the U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling that English judges have the power to set extraterritorial licensing royalty rates for standard-essential patents, including that it encourages forum shopping, says Thomas Cotter at the University of Minnesota Âé¶¹´«Ã½ School.

  • UK Ruling Shows Global SEP Enforcement Dilemma

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    The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling that U.K. judges have the power to set extraterritorial licensing royalty rates for standard-essential patents highlights a problem with global patent enforcement coordination and efficiency that could potentially be solved through the Patent Cooperation Treaty, says Roya Ghafele at Oxfirst.

  • Time To Reassess Your Patent Cooperation Treaty Strategy

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    In light of the trends outlined in the World Âé¶¹´«Ã½ Organization's recent annual Patent Cooperation Treaty review, applicants should make decisions on which international search authority to use based on immediate cost, total cost and quality, says Karam Saab at Kilpatrick.

  • German FRAND Decision May Shape Global SEP Landscape

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    The German high court's recent decision that patent owner Sisvel didn't breach its fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory patent licensing obligations by refusing to grant Haier a license represents a shift in the standard-essential patent landscape in favor of SEP holders' enforcement freedom, say Erik Puknys and Michelle Rice at Finnegan.

  • Sustainable Food Progress May Close Global Regulatory Gap

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    As the need for sustainable food production grows, the European sector will likely align with less stringent U.S. regulatory standards, which will further enable U.S. companies to expand globally and lead to more sophisticated intellectual property strategies in all regions, say Jane Hollywood and Fiona Carter at CMS Legal.

  • Cos. Should Assess IP, Contractual Protections For Their AI

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    Companies should understand the three types of intellectual property protection for safeguarding proprietary artificial intelligence — which is crucial to fighting the pandemic — as well as tools for creating protections when statutory means fall short, say Lori Bennett at Aetion and attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Tips For Accelerating Patent Prosecution In China

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    In light of recent Chinese patent statistics showing at least eight to 10 months to first office action and an average of 22.7 months to final disposition from the date of filing, there are several strategies applicants may explore to speed through examination, say Aaron Wininger at Schwegman Lundberg and Lei Tan at Pujing Chemical.

  • Use Of AI To Treat COVID-19 Shows Novel Inventorship Issues

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    As technology and medical companies collaborate to deploy artificial intelligence to combat COVID-19, questions arise about how best to protect AI innovations as well as who should get credit as an inventor, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

  • Israel's Generic COVID-19 Drug Licensing Lacks Due Process

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    The Israel attorney general's special compulsory license for imported generic versions of Abbvie's patented antiviral drug Kaletra to treat COVID-19 does not provide a right of response, a hearing or direct judicial review, says Ephraim Heiliczer at Pearl Cohen.

  • New US Policy On SEP Remedies Restores Critical Balance

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    The new joint U.S. Department of Justice-U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policy on standard-essential patents, clarifying that injunctions are available in accordance with general remedies law, helps restore a power balance between technology innovators and users, and realigns U.S. patent law with other jurisdictions, say attorneys at McKool Smith.

  • Vaccine IP Under Microscope With Coronavirus Outbreak

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    The coronavirus global outbreak, which has focused attention on the role patent systems play in encouraging investment in vaccines and cures, affords an opportunity to examine the tension among patent rights, investments, governments and public health, say Gaby Longsworth and Robert Greene Sterne at Sterne Kessler.

  • EU Lacks Effective Tool For Resolving Border Disputes

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    The European Court of Justice recently found that it did not have jurisdiction over Slovenia's claim to enforce an arbitration award against Croatia, indicating that EU legal framework cannot be used to resolve intra-EU border disputes, and that a new mechanism should possibly be developed, says Akshay Sewlikar at Linklaters.

  • Rebuttal

    AI Can't Accurately Predict Case Length And Cost — Yet

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    A recent Âé¶¹´«Ã½360 guest article argued that artificial intelligence can precisely estimate the length and cost of a new case, but several limitations will likely delay truly accurate predictions for years to come, says Andrew Russell at Shaw Keller.

  • Trade Agreements With EU Will Still Be Elusive Post-Brexit

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    Although a post-Brexit transitional arrangement largely preserves the status quo between the U.K. and the EU through the end of the year, intense trade negotiations for key industries are still to come, with the possibility of a no-deal exit in 2021, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Surefire Marketing Methods To Build Your Legal Practice

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    Attorneys who take the time and the risk to showcase their talents through speaking, writing and teaching will find that opportunities will begin building upon themselves, says Daniel Karon of Karon LLC.

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