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Âé¶¹´«Ã½ UK

  • April 15, 2025

    Arkema Wins 2nd Shot At Voiding Solvay's Polymer Patent

    Materials producer Arkema can take another swing at rival Solvay's polymer patent after proving that officials construed the blueprint in multiple contradictory ways when assessing its validity, a European appeals board said in a ruling released Tuesday.

  • April 14, 2025

    VW Can't Keep Chinese EV TM Claim Out Of Dutch Court

    A Dutch court has rejected Volkswagen AG's challenge to the court's authority to hear a claim in a licensing dispute between the automaker and the importers of a sub-brand of VW electric cars exclusive to the Chinese market.

  • April 14, 2025

    Philip Morris Beats BAT Unit's Challenge To Flavored Cig Tech

    European officials have upheld a Philip Morris patent for a cigarette filter embedded with a flavor-enhancer, dismissing claims from a subsidiary of British American Tobacco that previous patents already revealed its key elements.

  • April 14, 2025

    Top Dutch Court Chucks Fashion Giant's 'Only' TM Appeal

    A fashion chain has failed to convince the top Dutch court that a rival company's "Only For Men" trademarks infringe its protections over the "Only" brand, as they edge toward the conclusion of a dispute that stretches back to 2007.

  • April 14, 2025

    P&G Wins Eco Laundry Detergent IP Over Henkel Objection

    The European Patent Office's Board of Appeal has upheld a Procter & Gamble Co. patent covering a clear, plant-based laundry detergent, rejecting arguments from Henkel AG that the product's transparent appearance is merely cosmetic and not a technical innovation.

  • April 14, 2025

    Italian Biking Gear Biz Defends Patent Over Wearable Airbag

    An Italian motorcycling clothing company has kept hold of an amended version of its patent for a wearable airbag after it persuaded a European appeals panel to reject a rival's argument that the tech is not inventive.

  • April 11, 2025

    Knaus Forced To Recall Car Fibre Frames In Patent Spat 

    Europe's patent court has ordered a German caravan maker to stop selling an infringing version of its "self healing" fiber frames and pay provisional damages of €100,000 ($112,834) after it couldn't reach a deal to license the technology.

  • April 11, 2025

    Lenovo Can't Block Rival's 'Yoges' TM Over Computers

    British officials have rejected Lenovo's challenge to a rival's trademark application for "Yoges," ruling that shoppers would not think the rival products were somehow connected to Lenovo's Yoga laptop brand. 

  • April 11, 2025

    Epson Gets 3rd-Party Access To Docs In Dolby's UPC Claim

    The Unified Patent Court has green-lit Epson's third-party request to look at confidential documents from Dolby's audio coding patent infringement case, pointing out that the printer maker is fighting a separate claim over the same patent.

  • April 11, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen law firm Michael Wilson & Partners reignite a 20-year dispute with a former director over an alleged plot to form a rival partnership, headphone maker Marshall Amplification sue a rival in the intellectual property court, and a commercial diving company pursue action against state-owned nuclear waste processor Sellafield. Here, Âé¶¹´«Ã½360 looks at these and other new cases in the U.K.

  • April 11, 2025

    Hipgnosis Seeks To Revive Fee Dispute With Barry Manilow

    A music rights company urged the Court of Appeal on Friday to revive its claims against Barry Manilow, arguing that it has a right to pursue previously nixed claims against the megastar singer-songwriter over a $1.5 million rights purchase fee.

  • April 10, 2025

    EU Adviser Calls For Flexibility In Heirs' Film Copyright Case

    A European Court of Justice advocate general recommended Thursday that a French court allow the heirs of French director Claude Chabrol and screenwriter Paul Gégauff to bring a copyright lawsuit against the distributors of Chabrol and Gégauff's films.

  • April 10, 2025

    Microsoft Pushes Back On UK's Cloud Software Findings

    Microsoft has responded to the concerns raised by Britain's competition enforcer over the cloud services market, saying that artificial intelligence is radically reshaping the space, and that any regulatory intervention could make the industry less dynamic.

  • April 10, 2025

    EUIPO Must Not Ignore UK TMs From Pre-Brexit, Adviser Says

    The European Union Âé¶¹´«Ã½ Office must weigh up potential conflicts with U.K. trademarks when considering applications filed before Brexit, an adviser to the bloc's top court said Thursday.

  • April 10, 2025

    UK Expands IP Mediation Program For Unrepresented Parties

    The U.K. government said Thursday it will pilot an expanded program of mediation in intellectual property disputes, primarily aimed at parties who do not have legal representation.

  • April 10, 2025

    Viagra Maker Wins EU Battle To Keep Trademark

    Viatris has beaten an attempt to revoke its trademark over the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, after European Union officials ruled that the company has put the mark to proper use.

  • April 09, 2025

    AstraZeneca Blocks Generics Ahead Of Patent Dispute

    AstraZeneca convinced an appeals court Wednesday to keep rival Glenmark's generic version of a billion-dollar diabetes treatment off the market ahead of determination of a patent dispute.

  • April 09, 2025

    Electronics Giants Denied UPC Infringement Claim Split

    The Unified Patent Court ruled Wednesday that three electronics companies must face a glass manufacturer's patent infringement claim in one case because there is no reason to split the dispute into three.

  • April 09, 2025

    Ericsson Inks Video Patent License Deal With Avanci 

    Avanci and Ericsson have struck a deal giving the Finnish telecommunications firm access to its pool of essential patents for internet video streaming, the U.S. license operator said Tuesday.

  • April 09, 2025

    Soft Drinks Giant Can't Stop Rival's 'Snapple' TM For E-Cigs

    Soft drinks maker Snapple has failed to convince European officials to nix a Chinese firm's trademark application for the same name because consumers would not think its beverage brand was connected to the e-cigarettes produced by its rival.

  • April 09, 2025

    Meditation App Trims 'Calm Therapy' TM Bid From Makeup Biz

    The business behind a popular meditation app has persuaded European Union officials to narrow a Spanish cosmetics company's "Calm Therapy" trademark application, proving shoppers could mistake the logo for its "Calm Health" brand.

  • April 08, 2025

    UPC Can Weigh Issues In Spain Even Though It Didn't Join

    Europe's patent court confirmed Tuesday that it has jurisdiction to hear a patent dispute between two motorcyclist gear makers, including infringement issues in Spain, even though the country didn't join the UPC system.

  • April 08, 2025

    J&J Unit Can't Revive Dutch Infringement Claim Over Drug

    A Dutch appeals court has rejected Janssen's claim that Samsung has infringed its patent over the Crohn's treatment Stelara by producing the drug on European Union soil with plans to export it outside the bloc.

  • April 08, 2025

    Plastics Biz Accuses Cosmetics Co. Of Copying Brush Design

    A French plastic products manufacturer has maintained that its designs for a makeup brush stand out from existing products on the market, following an attempt by a cosmetics firm to revoke its rights in an ongoing infringement dispute.

  • April 08, 2025

    Gap, TfL Forced To Pay Own Costs In 'Mind The Gap' TM Fight

    A challenge by clothing retailer Gap Inc. to Transport for London's "mind the gap" trademark has ended with both sides ordered to cover their own legal costs, after U.K. officials found both parties had acted unreasonably.

Expert Analysis

  • Benefits Of Unified Patent Court Compared To Local Litigation

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    Recently opened for business, the Unified Patent Court offers a faster, cheaper and more streamlined solution to handle patent disputes compared to EU countries and the U.S., and could become the most important forum for patent litigation in Europe, if not worldwide, say lawyers at McDermott.

  • Global Issues In EU's Licensing Plans For Essential Patents

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    Consultants at Analysis Group explore questions surrounding the recently announced EU licensing framework for standard-essential patents, and how the European Commission's goals may influence discussions of issues like procedure, efficiency and transparency in the U.S. and elsewhere.

  • EPO Decision Adds To Sparse Case Âé¶¹´«Ã½ On Core AI Patents

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    The recent European Patent Office Board of Appeal decision in the Sparsely connected neural network/Mitsubishi case is remarkable for its technicality, and provides rare guidance for companies on the requirements for core artificial intelligence invention patents, says Alexander Korenberg at Kilburn & Strode.

  • A Deep Dive Into EU Unified Patent Court Policy

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    Robert Sterne at Sterne Kessler offers a detailed analysis of the EU's Unified Patent Court and the unitary patent, which go live on June 1, discussing what U.S. practitioners need to know from an enforcement and freedom-to-operate perspective.

  • AI And Copyright: Tracking The Ownership Issues

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    The rise of generative AI has created copyright and ownership challenges in creative industries, but contractual agreements, intellectual property law and AI-specific regulations can be used to address these issues, says Kimiya Shams at Devialet.

  • How Ed Sheeran's Serenade May Have Swayed The Jury

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    While Ed Sheeran's performance of his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" at trial could not protect him from the subconscious copying doctrine, it may have tapped into jurors' intuitions about independent creation, winning him the copyright infringement suit over the song, says Christopher Buccafusco at Duke University School of Âé¶¹´«Ã½.

  • An Overlooked Tool To Fight USPTO 'Restriction'

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    Over the last several years, we have seen the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office more commonly impose flimsy restrictions on patent applications under the "one invention per application" rule, and practitioners underutilize petition as a means to challenge them, say George Chaclas and Emily Ferriter Russo at Day Pitney.

  • Opinion

    AI-Generated Works Should Not Have Copyright Protection

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    The U.S. Copyright Office has correctly determined that works created solely by artificial intelligence do not qualify for protection, as granting exclusive rights to such works would be unwise for a number of reasons, says Thomas McNulty at Lando & Anastasi.

  • Examining The New UK Service Guidance For TM Proceedings

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    A new much-anticipated U.K. Âé¶¹´«Ã½ Office practice notice affects situations where there is no valid U.K. address for service of documents in trademark and registered design proceedings, and will mean rights holders are on notice at an earlier stage of proceedings, with limited time in which to respond, says Nina O'Sullivan at Mishcon de Reya.

  • A Look At M&S' Registered Design Claim Win Against Aldi

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    Adding to the long line of cases seeking to restrain Aldi's attempts to mimic market-leading products, Marks & Spencer's recent success in the U.K. High Court based on registered designs demonstrates that supermarket copycat products may no longer be able to sail so close to the wind, says Alex Borthwick at Powell Gilbert.

  • UK Teva Ruling Brings Patent Remedy Into Question

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    Arrow declarations have been considered an extremely effective tool for patent litigators, but following the recent U.K. Court of Appeal decision in Teva v. Novartis it appears that courts are looking to take a more conservative view, say David Holt and Tony Proctor at Potter Clarkson.

  • How CJEU Case Shifts TM Liability For Platforms Like Amazon

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    The EU Court of Justice's recent ruling on Amazon's liability for trademark infringement in relation to fake Christian Louboutin shoes advertised by third parties on its website may leave web platforms that sell third-party vendors' products alongside their own brands more vulnerable to infringement claims, say Louisa Chambers and Helen Reddish at Travers Smith.

  • Europe's New Unitary Patent System Will Affect IP Agreements

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    Marco Stief at Maiwald discusses key points in intellectual property agreements that legal practitioners will need to consider in Europe's soon-to-open centralized patent court, including regional exclusivity in different contracting member states.

  • EU Medicine Reboxing Ruling Gives Guidance To Pharma Cos.

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    The recent landmark decision of the Court of Justice of the EU in Novartis Pharma on repackaging medicines has provided pharma companies with a much-needed framework, with better protections for trademarks and clearer protocols for handling imported products, say Ulf Grundmann and Elisabeth Kohoutek at King & Spalding.

  • A Look Ahead At Key UK Âé¶¹´«Ã½ Cases

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    Anticipated 2023 U.K. intellectual property decisions include robotics, artificial intelligence, and clean energy matters that have also been heard in the U.S., while other areas to watch include global fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory issues, as well as COVID-19 patent litigation, say Tom Oliver and Claire Robinson at Powell Gilbert.

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