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Intellectual Property UK
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May 17, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen a wave of claims filed against Verity Trustees Ltd., Harley-Davidson hit retailer Next with an intellectual property claim, Turkish e-commerce entrepreneur Demet Mutlu sue her ex-husband and Trendyol co-founder Evren Üçok and the Solicitors Regulation Authority file a claim against the former boss of collapsed law firm Axiom. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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May 17, 2024
Red Bull Fends Off 'Gives You Wings' TM Challenge
Red Bull has beaten a challenge to its "Gives You Wings" trademark after the energy drink giant convinced an appellate panel at the European Union Intellectual Property Office that it had genuinely used the trademark to promote the beverage.
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May 17, 2024
Drinks Biz Pours Cold Water On Winemaker's 'Pinea' TM Bid
A Spanish mineral water company has persuaded an appeals panel to block a winemaker from registering its "Pinea" trademark in the European Union, proving that consumers could confuse the logo with its earlier "Pineo" sign.
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May 17, 2024
Lufthansa Unit Loses Latest R+, AirPlus EU Trademark Battle
A Lufthansa unit cannot block a financial consultancy's "R+ Cash Lab" trademark bid based on its set of "AirPlus" trademarks because consumers are unlikely to confuse the two brands despite their sounding similar, a European Union appeals panel has ruled.
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May 17, 2024
German Sugar Biz Beats Sinusitis Patent Challenge At EPO
A German sugar giant has claimed victory in an appeal against a challenge to its patents for the use of a plant fiber to prevent sinusitis, as the board found that the inventions of the challengers differed significantly from its own.
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May 16, 2024
Cybercompany Gen Digital Partially Fends Off 'Gen' TM Attack
Cybersoftware firm Gen Digital partially fought off an attack on its trademark "Gen," but lost the ability to register it for several services after British officials ruled that consumers might overlook the number at the end of tech company Gen25's mark and get confused.
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May 16, 2024
Bayer Fights To Overturn Xarelto Blood Thinner Patent Loss
Pharma giant Bayer AG took its fight against a slew of generic-drug makers to keep its patent over its blockbuster drug Xarelto to the Court of Appeal on Thursday, saying the lower court was wrong to nix the patent and that it does contain an important inventive step.
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May 16, 2024
Luxury Sunglasses Co. Beats 'Akoni' EU TM Challenge
A Swiss luxury sunglasses company has fought off a jeweler's challenge to its "Akoni" trademark, persuading a European Union appeals panel that consumers would not confuse the sign with its opponent's earlier "Ascoli" branding.
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May 16, 2024
TM Liability Ruling A 'Get Out Of Jail Free Card' For Execs
A ruling by Britain's highest court puts the burden on brand owners to prove that executives at the company knew about any alleged trademark infringement from their business to be sued. This landmark ruling is likely to impede brand owners who are looking to enforce their intellectual property.
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May 16, 2024
Recordati Adds New Head Of IP From Zentiva
Recordati has hired a U.S. lawyer with a decade of experience working in-house at pharma giants Sandoz and Zentiva to take on a newly created role as group head IP counsel.
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May 16, 2024
Romanian Pharma Co. Beats Rival For Cough Syrup TM
A Romanian pharmaceutical company has fought off a rival's bid to get its cough syrup trademark scrapped by European Union intellectual property officials.
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May 16, 2024
EUIPO Didn't Deny Fair Hearing To TM Opponent, Court Says
An industrial technology company has survived a challenge to its "UC" trademark hopes as an opponent failed to persuade a European Union court that officials had failed to handle his case fairly in earlier proceedings.
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May 15, 2024
Justices Mull What Defines A Computer In AI Appeal
A London appeals court grappled Wednesday with what exactly constitutes a "computer" under patent law, as counsel for an AI company attempted to convince the courts to let be a ruling that held its AI invention is neither a computer nor a program, and therefore patentable.
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May 15, 2024
AbbVie Unit Protects 'Juvéderm' Cosmetics TM At EU Court
An AbbVie unit on Wednesday fought off a challenge to its "Juvéderm" trademark at a European Union court, convincing officials that it did not monopolize the dermal filler brand in bad faith to capitalize on its opponent's earlier use of the brand name in Lebanon.
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May 15, 2024
Huawei Loses EPO Bid For Roaming Calls Patent
Huawei has lost its fight to patent technology for streamlining the process for making international calls, after an appellate board at the European patent authority ruled that the technology did not build on older software.
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May 15, 2024
Punk Bassist Nixes 'Slaughter And The Dogs' Band Name TM
The former bassist of 1970s punk rock band Slaughter and the Dogs has persuaded intellectual property officials to nix his former bandmate's trademark over the group's name, proving that the lead singer could not claim all the benefits of the band's reputation.
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May 15, 2024
6 Questions For Sebastian Moore, HSF's IP Head In The UK
Sebastian Moore, head of the intellectual property practice of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP in the U.K., has told Law360 that he had been keen to make use of his chemistry degree when he decided to become a lawyer specializing in IP.
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May 15, 2024
Fashion Execs Not Liable For TM Infringement, Justices Say
Two executives of a defunct fashion company are not legally responsible for causing their business to commit trademark infringement, Britain's highest court ruled Wednesday, making them exempt from paying back profits from their alleged wrongdoing.
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May 14, 2024
Appeals Court Urged To Rule Neural Network Is Not Patentable
Counsel for the U.K.'s patent authority urged an appeals court to overturn a decision that held a company's recommendation technology could be patented, in a much anticipated appeal that looks to set the groundwork for the scope of protection for "artificial intelligence"-related technology.
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May 14, 2024
Electronic Labeling Biz Can't Get Injunction In €2M UPC Battle
A French electronic labeling company has failed to provisionally bar a Chinese competitor from selling its products amid a €2 million ($2.2 million) patent dispute, as a Unified Patent Court appeals panel was unconvinced that its rival's goods infringe the protected design.
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May 14, 2024
F1's EU TM Still In The Race After Partial Appeal Win
Formula One can revive a trademark over its name for retail services that previous examiners had nixed, after European officials found that the racing group had genuinely used the mark for a required five-year period.
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May 14, 2024
Chinese Vacuum Maker Loses Appeal Over TM Registration
A Chinese vacuum cleaner maker has failed to beat a European Union ruling to register a trademark for the name "Tineco," as an appeals board found that consumers might confuse it with a competitor's mark.
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May 14, 2024
ATM Network Accuses Stripe Of Infringing 'Link' TMs
The main ATM network in the U.K. has accused Stripe of infringing its trademarks and hijacking its reputation by providing a payments system under the "Link" name, telling a court that consumers associate this branding with the cash machine system in Britain.
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May 13, 2024
US Med Tech Co. Can't Get 'EvenFlow' IP
A U.S. medical technology company could not convince the Board of Appeal at the European Union Intellectual Property Office to overturn a decision denying its trademark application for "EvenFlow," after the appellate board held that the application lacked distinctive character.
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May 13, 2024
Clothing Co. Blames Businessman In Knockoff Garment Fight
A London-based garment supplier has responded to accusations that it sold knockoff "Yours" and "Yours Curve" plus-size clothing, telling a London court that a businessman it dealt with was responsible for supplying allegedly infringing items.
Expert Analysis
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UK Trademark Law May Further Diverge From EU Standards
The recently enacted Retained EU Law Act, which removes the principle of EU law supremacy, offers a path for U.K. trademark law to distance itself even further from EU precedent — beyond the existing differences between the two trademark examination processes, say David Kemp and Michael Shaw at Marks & Clerk.
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How Clinical Trials Affect Patentability In US And Europe
A comparison of recent U.S. and European patent decisions — concerning the effect of disclosures in clinical trials on the patentability of products — offers guidance on good practice for companies dealing with public use issues and prior art documents in these commercially important jurisdictions, say lawyers at Finnegan.
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Breaking Down The EPO's Revised Practice Guidelines
The European Patent Office's updated guidelines for examination recently took effect and include significant changes related to the priority right presumption, the concept of plausibility and artificial intelligence, providing invaluable insight on obtaining patents from the office, say lawyers at Finnegan.
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UK Amazon Ruling Spotlights TM Rights In International Sales
Highlighting the conflict between the territorial nature of trademark rights and the borderless nature of the internet, the U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision — that Amazon's U.S. website could infringe EU and U.K. rights by targeting local buyers — offers guidance on navigating trademark rights in relation to online sales, say Emmy Hunt, Mark Kramer and Jordan Mitchell at Potter Clarkson.
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Comparing The UK And EU Approaches To AI Regulation
While there are significant points of convergence between the recently published U.K. approach to artificial intelligence regulation and the EU AI Act, there is also notable divergence between them, and it appears that the U.K. will remain a less regulatory environment for AI in the foreseeable future, say lawyers at Steptoe.
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Design Rights Can Build IP Protection, EU Lego Ruling Shows
The EU General Court's recent ruling in Delta Sport v. EU Intellectual Property Office — that Lego's registered community design for a building block was valid — helps clarify when technically dictated designs can enjoy IP protection, and demonstrates how companies can strategically use design rights to protect and enhance their market position, says Christoph Moeller at Mewburn Ellis.
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ECJ Ruling Clarifies Lawyer Independence Questions
The European Court of Justice's recent ruling in Bonnanwalt v. EU Intellectual Property Office, finding that a law firm had maintained independence despite being owned by its client, serves as a pivotal reference point to understanding the contours of legal representation before EU courts, say James Tumbridge and Benedict Sharrock-Harris at Venner Shipley.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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Patent Plausibility Uncertainty Persists, EPO Petition Shows
While a recent petition for review at the European Patent Office — maintaining that the Board of Appeal misapplied the Enlarged Board of Appeal's order on whether a patent is "plausible" — highlights the continued uncertainty surrounding the plausibility concept, the outcome could provide useful guidance on the interpretation of orders, say lawyers at Finnegan.
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UMG-TikTok IP Rift Highlights Effective Rights Control Issues
Despite Universal Music Group's recent withdrawal of TikTok's licensing rights to its music catalog, the platform struggles to control uploads and reproductions of copyrighted material, highlighting the inherent tension between creative freedom and effective rights control in the age of social media, says Simon Goodbody at Bray & Krais.
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Bribery Class Action Ruling May Revive Bifurcated Processes
The Court of Appeal's recent decision allowing the representative bribery action in Commission Recovery v. Marks & Clerk offers renewed hope for claimants to advance class claims using a bifurcated process amid its general absence as of late, say Jon Gale and Justin Browne at Ashurst.
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Ocado Appeal Outcome Will Gauge UPC Transparency
As the sole Unified Patent Court case concerning third-party requests for court records, the forthcoming appeal decision in Ocado v. Autostore will hopefully set out a clear and consistent way to handle reasoned requests, as access to nonconfidential documents will surely lead to more efficient conduct of proceedings, says Tom Brazier at EIP.
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Businesses Using AI Face Novel Privacy, Cybersecurity Risks
Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence are resulting in complex privacy and cybersecurity challenges for businesses, and with the forthcoming EU AI Act and enhancement of existing laws to ensure a high common level of security, key stakeholders should be empowered to manage associated risks, say lawyers at Goodwin.
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Following The Road Map Toward Quantum Security
With the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent publication of a white paper on a quantum-secure financial sector, firms should begin to consider the quantum transition early — before the process is driven by regulatory obligations — with the goal of developing a cybersecurity architecture that is agile while also allowing for quantum security, say lawyers at Cleary.
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AI Is Outpacing IP Law Frameworks
In Thaler v. Comptroller-General, the U.K. Supreme Court recently ruled that artificial intelligence can't be an inventor, but the discussion on the relationship between AI and intellectual property law is far from over, and it's clear that technology is developing faster than the legal framework, says Stephen Carter at The Intellectual Property Works.