Intellectual Property UK

  • December 18, 2024

    AmEx Beats Spanish Software Co.'s Costs Bid In IP Battle

    American Express convinced a London judge on Wednesday that it shouldn't have to cover the litigation costs of a Spanish technology startup that ultimately dropped its claims that the credit card giant copied software that searched for cheaper flights.

  • December 18, 2024

    Huawei Fights To Toss MediaTek's UK Chip Patent Claim

    Chinese tech company Huawei asked the High Court on Wednesday to toss out patent infringement claims brought by Taiwanese rival MediaTek, arguing that the English courts are not the right place to hear the dispute and that the issues should be decided in China.

  • December 18, 2024

    Novartis Beats EPO Challenge To Eye-Drop Medication Patent

    Novartis has fended off the challenges of two pharmaceutical rivals to its patent for an eye-drop medication as European officials concluded that the drugmaker's combination of key components differed from an older patent for disinfecting contact lenses.

  • December 18, 2024

    Creatives Wary Of UK Proposal For AI Training Opt-Out

    Representatives of the creative industry have expressed concern about the government's proposals for people in the sector to opt out of having their work used to train AI models, arguing that the onus should be on developers of artificial intelligence to pay holders of the rights.

  • December 18, 2024

    Group Says Craig Wright In Contempt For £900B Bitcoin Claim

    Cryptocurrency developers argued in a London court Wednesday that Australian computer scientist Craig Wright should be found in contempt of court for asserting he had invented bitcoin in an approximately £900 billion ($1.144 trillion) claim after a judge ruled that he had repeatedly lied about creating the digital currency.

  • December 17, 2024

    UK's IPO Fails To Improve Persistent Pay Gap For Women

    U.K. officials revealed on Tuesday that male workers at the Intellectual Property Office made 27% more than their female colleagues in the last year, marking almost no improvement over the past three years.

  • December 17, 2024

    UK Eases Trademark Rules To Allow Partial Int'l Replacements

    The U.K. has tweaked its trademark laws to allow international registrations to partially replace domestic trademarks, boosting flexibility for intellectual property owners.

  • December 17, 2024

    3M Unit Can't Nix Smith & Nephew's Wound-Healing Patent

    A 3M subsidiary lost its bid to block Smith & Nephew's patent for a pump that treats wounds using negative pressure after European officials ruled that its unique features deserved protection, in the latest skirmish between the firms over the technology.

  • December 17, 2024

    Thatchers Says Aldi Got Unfair Advantage By Copycat Cider

    The makers of Thatchers cider urged an appeals court on Tuesday to revive its trademark infringement claim against Aldi, arguing that the supermarket chain had gained an unfair advantage by producing a copycat design of its drink.

  • December 17, 2024

    Mayer Brown-Led Shell Co. To Buy Music Biz For £97M

    Acquisition company Acceler8 Ventures PLC said on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Verifyyed, a U.S. music transaction platform, for £96.8 million ($122.7 million) in a move to grow the business in a profitable market.

  • December 17, 2024

    UK Gov't Floats Copyright Exception For AI Training

    The government has floated the idea of introducing exceptions for copyright law to train artificial intelligence models for commercial purposes, amid a broader consultation launched Tuesday that will look at the impact of the new technology on the intellectual property system. 

  • December 16, 2024

    EU Urged To Put IP Crime Among Policy Priorities

    Fighting intellectual property crime and counterfeiting must be among the key policy priorities for the European Union's crime-busting initiative, a coalition of IP groups has said.

  • December 16, 2024

    Halozyme Loses Bid To Protect Breast Cancer Drugs

    A London judge on Monday rejected Halozyme's bid to protect an active ingredient in two breast cancer drugs with a supplementary protection certificate, after finding that it was actually an inactive substance used to enhance other therapeutic effects.

  • December 16, 2024

    Gov't Urged To Protect Creative Copyright In AI Policy

    A coalition of U.K. creative industry groups launched on Monday and urged the government to prioritize copyright protections as generative artificial intelligence continues to advance, stressing the importance of human-authored material in developing AI.

  • December 16, 2024

    Chipmaker Arm Settles UPC, US IP Litigation With Rival

    The Unified Patent Court has granted two computer chip companies permission to pull out of their litigation in Europe after the pair inked an agreement ending their parallel U.S. feud.

  • December 16, 2024

    Harvesting Tech Biz Can't Nix Rival's Crop Monitoring Patent

    A harvesting technology company has fought off a challenge by a rival to its crop monitoring patent, convincing a European appeals panel that it did not unlawfully extend the patent's scope during examination.

  • December 13, 2024

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

    This past week in London has seen a group of franchise operators hit Vodafone with a £120 million ($151 million) claim for allegedly imposing commission cuts, green energy tycoon Dale Vince pursue another libel action against the publisher of the Daily Mail, and parcel delivery giant Yodel face a claim by an investor that helped save it from collapse earlier in the year.

  • December 13, 2024

    Fresenius Can't Stop Baxter's Effort To Save Dialysis Patent

    Baxter has won a shot at rescuing its European patent over a dialysis machine amid Fresenius' opposition, persuading an appeals panel in a ruling published Friday to shelve an earlier decision to revoke the patent.

  • December 13, 2024

    Microsoft Can't Challenge Damages Ceiling During UPC Fight

    Europe's patent court refused Microsoft's bid to reduce the potential amount of damages a Finnish rival can claim in an infringement dispute, ruling that the tech giant couldn't bring an interlocutory appeal.

  • December 13, 2024

    Materials Orgs Can Fight To Nix Rival's Aluminum Foil Patent

    A group of materials companies have won the chance to revoke the patent of a rival over aluminum foil, convincing a European appeals panel that examiners should reassess the patent's validity.

  • December 13, 2024

    GSK Seeks Second Shot At Pfizer Vaccine Patent Fight

    GSK asked a London court on Friday to allow it to challenge a decision to nix two patents protecting its blockbuster vaccine for the respiratory syncytial virus, arguing that a judge made errors when revoking patent protection.

  • December 12, 2024

    Spanish Law Firm Nixes Rival's 'Lopez-Ibor' TM

    The founder of a Spanish law firm has lost his bid to register a trademark for "López-Ibor Abogados" after a European court held that clients would likely confuse it with another firm's earlier mark.

  • December 12, 2024

    Nestle Can Fight To Save Anti-Obesity Milk Formula Patent

    Nestle has won a shot at rescuing its European patent over a milk formula designed to prevent obesity, persuading officials in a ruling released Thursday to overturn a decision to invalidate the patent.

  • December 12, 2024

    Auto Parts Biz Frees BMW Model From Sales Ban At UPC

    A car parts maker has convinced the Unified Patent Court to partially lift an order halting its electric machine sales to avoid infringing the protections of a rival, proving that the injunction wrongly left one BMW model off a list of exceptions.

  • December 12, 2024

    'Curry King' Frankfurter Brand Can't Nix 'Chipsy King' TM

    A European Union court has dismissed a challenge brought by one of the largest frankfurter brands in Germany against a decision by the bloc's intellectual property authority to give the green light to a trademark for "Chipsy Kings."

Expert Analysis

  • How CJEU Case Shifts TM Liability For Platforms Like Amazon

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

    Author Photo

    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 Intellectual Property Cases

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Lessons That May Be Learned From The Demise Of Made.com

    Author Photo

    With Made.com going into administration, companies that may face similar challenges should take on board that the earlier adequate preemptive planning is considered, the more financial and legal options there will be to avoid last minute firefighting and to focus instead on strengthening the business, says Eleni Michaela at Faegre Drinker.

  • Teva Case Aims Europe's Pharma Crackdown At IP Loophole

    Author Photo

    The European Commission's recent allegations against Teva signal not only the EU competition watchdog's continued focus on intellectual property violations in the pharmaceutical sector but also its new enforcement interest in exclusionary disparagement, say Robert Bell and Malgorzata Janiec at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Determining Whether To Opt Out Of New Unified Patent Court

    Author Photo

    The new United Patent Court, made up of judges from all European Union member states, will cover the new unitary patent and European patents unless the owner chooses to opt out during the transition period, so patent proprietors must consider whether to opt out for each patent family, say Steffen Steininger and Anna-Katharina Friese-Okoro at Hogan Lovells.

  • 10 Things To Know About The Coming EU Unified Patent Court

    Author Photo

    When the Unified Patent Court opens next year, it will represent a paradigm shift for adversarial patent proceedings in Europe, and practitioners should familiarize themselves now with this new, centralized litigation system, say Fabian Koenigbauer at Ice Miller and Thomas Kronberger at Grünecker.

  • 7 Key Takeaways For Litigating Willful Patent Infringement

    Author Photo

    Brian Nolan and Manuel Velez at Mayer Brown explore the impact of the Federal Circuit's 2021 SRI International v. Cisco Systems decision, and six other areas recent parties have focused on when litigating willful infringement in the latest case law.

  • Trademark Ruling Brings Clarity To Product Defect Liability

    Author Photo

    The recent Court of Justice of the EU ruling in Fennia v. Philips, its first concerning the trademark aspect of producer liability in Article 3(1) of Directive 85/374, brings greater clarity to the question of compensation in the event of a claim for defective products, say Radboud Ribbert and Thomas van Weeren at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Appointments Shape EU Unified Patent Court Before Launch

    Author Photo

    A series of judiciary appointments at the EU Unified Patent Court help put the court on track for its April opening, while also reflecting a patent-friendly enforcement system, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • 5 Considerations In Preparing For EU's New Patent System

    Author Photo

    With the upcoming implementation of the unitary patent and Unified Patent Court, Europe gets closer to its long-term goal of one EU patent that can be enforced in one court, and non-EU patent owners and applicants will have strategic decisions to make, say Fabian Koenigbauer at Ice Miller and Thomas Kronberger at Grünecker.

  • Reexamining Negative Limitations After Novartis Patent Ruling

    Author Photo

    The Federal Circuit's decision and denial of rehearing in Novartis v. Accord has created exacting standards that must be met in order for negative limitations in patent claims to satisfy the written description requirement, but whether the dissent is correct that the majority opinion heightened the standard is an arguable point, say Jonathan Fitzgerald and Jaime Choi at Snell & Wilmer.

  • UK Courts' 3rd-Party Disclosure Rule Sets Global Precedent

    Author Photo

    The quiet change about to take place in the English Civil Procedure Rules, enabling U.K. courts to require pre-action disclosure of information from overseas third parties, is uncharted territory and will have profound implications for any organization that handles assets on behalf of a party, says Simon Bushell at Seladore Legal.

  • Zara TM Ruling Shows Prefiling Clearance Is Always Advisable

    Author Photo

    The recent Trade Mark Tribunal decision regarding Zara and House of Zana demonstrates the importance of conducting prefiling clearance investigations, so that where opposition may be anticipated, a strategy can be put in place, says Melanie Harvey at Birketts.

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!