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Intellectual Property UK
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March 02, 2026
GSK Unit Loses Appeal Bid For 3D Purple Inhaler TM
European appellate officials have denied Glaxo Group's application for a 3D-shaped trademark of an inhaler, ruling that shoppers would associate the purple color with its ingredients rather than commercial origin as color use was already widespread.
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March 02, 2026
UK Record Labels Say US Rap Duo $uicideboy$ Infringed IP
Two British record labels have told a London court that U.S. rap duo $uicideboy$ infringed their copyright by sampling music from movie soundtrack composer Mica Levi without permission.
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February 27, 2026
Gowling Wins Access To Docs In Ongoing UPC Pharma Feud
The Unified Patent Court has allowed law firm Gowling WLG to see pleadings from Boehringer and Zentiva's dispute concerning a fibrosis drug, even though the underlying case is still ongoing.
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February 27, 2026
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen Linklaters sue a shipping company, high-street clothing giant Urban Outfitters hit with an intellectual property claim, Ithaca Energy sue rival Chrysaor, and cabaret club magnate Alex Proud face legal action with his nightclubs in financial turmoil.
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February 27, 2026
BBC, FT Want To Strike Licensing Deals With AI Developers
The BBC and the Financial Times are among a coalition of major British news brands that have joined forces with the goal of establishing licensing frameworks for artificial intelligence developers to use their content.
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February 27, 2026
Trade Laws Not Guide For Regional IP Rights, EU Court Says
A European Union court has ruled that definitions of goods contained in the bloc's customs regime are not a guide when deciding whether certain items qualify for intellectual property protections over regional produce, in a dispute over Mongolian cashmere.
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February 27, 2026
Zaha Hadid Co. Wins Right To End Trademark Deal
Zaha Hadid's architectural company can terminate a deal to use trademarks signed before her death in 2016, after an appeals court held Friday that the licensing agreement was not intended to "lock the parties together forever."
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February 26, 2026
Nokia Submits To UK Court's Role In Paramount Patent Feud
Nokia said Thursday it has agreed to let a London judge set global terms for a license allowing Paramount and Warner Bros. to use its video coding patents, backing down from its earlier challenge to the U.K. court's jurisdiction.
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February 26, 2026
German Court Rejects 'Fridays For Future' TM Application
The German Federal Patent Court has refused a German company's application to register a trademark for the climate activist slogan "Fridays For Future," holding that the bid for the backdated trademark application was inadmissible.
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February 26, 2026
Philips TM For Razor Grip Pattern Slashed At EUIPO
European officials have rejected Philips' bid to register a collection of dots as a position trademark on its electric shavers and hair clippers, ruling that the spattering of superellipses above the power button wouldn't catch people's eye despite the consumer tech giant's claims.
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February 26, 2026
Freshfields Guides Asahi Kasei Unit In €780M Biopharma Deal
Japanese conglomerate Asahi Kasei Corp. said Thursday it has agreed to buy biopharmaceutical company Aicuris for €780 million ($920 million) cash to fuel the German company's research and development efforts, in a deal steered by Freshfields LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
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February 26, 2026
Louis Theroux's Co. Beats 'Alien Autopsy' Copyright Claim
A court dismissed on Thursday a movie director's claim that Louis Theroux's production company is infringing his copyright in the 1995 "Alien Autopsy" film by producing its upcoming documentary on the origins of the hoax footage.
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February 26, 2026
European Patent Court To Open 2nd Panel At Düsseldorf
The Unified Patent Court will open a second panel in Düsseldorf on Sunday, with the city in northwest Germany joining Munich as the only other city having two panels within the court's local division.
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February 26, 2026
Corkscrew Too Ordinary For French Biz To Get Trademark
A European Union court has poured cold water on a French company's hopes of securing a 3D trademark for a corkscrew, ruling that the design simply reproduces a tool for removing the cork from a bottle.
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February 25, 2026
European Patent Court Rejects TCL's Bid To Nix Glass Patent
Europe's patent court has rejected tech giant TCL's bid to nix a materials manufacturer's method for making glass used in consumer goods, ruling that the tin-fining process was new and wouldn't have been obvious to others at the time.
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February 25, 2026
Royal Family Textile Supplier Sued For Fern Print Theft
An interior design company has accused one of the British royal family's fabric and wallpaper suppliers of infringing its copyright in a "scrolling fern" design by reproducing the patterns of green botanical waves on rival products.
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February 25, 2026
Laser Maker Gets UPC To Halt Rival's Sales
A laser business has persuaded the Unified Patent Court to restrict a rival manufacturer's sales in several European countries after proving that the company was infringing its patent.
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February 25, 2026
GXD-Bio Appeals Genetic Tester IP Loss Against Myriad
A South-Korean biotech firm has appealed a ruling in December that revoked its breast cancer test patent and dismissed its infringement claims against Myriad Genetics in Europe's patent court.
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February 25, 2026
Microsoft Stops Finnish Tech Biz Reviving UPC Claim
Appellate judges at the Unified Patent Court have refused to reopen a Finnish tech company's failed patent infringement claim against Microsoft, ruling that the court made no obvious error in throwing out the case.
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February 24, 2026
Vienna UPC Throws Out Packing Co.'s Infringement Claim
The Vienna local division of the UPC has thrown out a German packaging company's infringement claim against a rival, but also refused an attempt by the rival to revoke the underlying patent.
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February 24, 2026
Apple Suffers A Blow In Appeal Over EU 'WeatherKit' TM
European appellate officials have rejected Apple Inc.'s bid to register a trademark for "WeatherKit," ruling that it was too descriptive to be a sign of commercial origin.
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February 24, 2026
Artist Denies Holographer's Rights Over Queen's Portraits
An artist has denied claims that he failed to credit a technician as the co-author of two holographic portraits of the late Queen Elizabeth, arguing that he was their sole creator and that his former business partner was infringing his copyright.
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February 24, 2026
Tesla Must Face Rival's TM Bid Again Over Brexit Error
A trademark filing firm has won a second shot at registering "Tesla" despite objections from the eponymous electric automaker after a London judge found that a bad faith ruling was based on the wrong date post-Brexit.
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February 24, 2026
Huawei Loses 'Sparklink' TM Clash With Italian Telecoms Biz
A European Union appeals panel has rejected Huawei's latest attempt to secure a "Sparklink" trademark for phones and network services, ruling that shoppers could confuse the sign with an Italian telecommunications firm's "Sparkle" brand.
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February 23, 2026
Furniture Maker Denies Copying Rival's Unwanted Samples
A furniture manufacturer has pushed back against claims that it copied a former business partner's designs to make its new "Augusta" range, arguing that it never asked for the samples it was sent and that another designer was behind its new dining set.
Expert Analysis
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How The UPC, ITC Complement Each Other In Patent Law
Attorneys at Ropes & Gray discuss the similarities and differences between the Unified Patent Court and the International Trade Commission, as well as recent matters litigated in both venues and why parties choose to file at these forums.
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Rowing Machine IP Loss Waters Down Design Protections
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court's recent judgment dismissing WaterRower's claim that its wooden rowing machines were works of artistic craftsmanship highlights divergence between U.K. and European Union copyright law, and signals a more stringent approach to protecting designs in a post-Brexit U.K., say lawyers at Finnegan.
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Takeaways From EU's Draft AI Code Of Practice
The European Union AI Office’s recently published first draft of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice sheds some welcome light on which Artificial Intelligence Act compliance issues the office finds particularly knotty and, importantly, acknowledges where further guidance will be necessary, say lawyers at Akin.
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The Rising Tide Of EU Antitrust Enforcement In Pharma
The European Commission’s recent record-breaking €463 million fine of Teva for abusing its dominant position confirms that European Union competition law enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector remains a priority, with infringements drawing serious financial exposure, say lawyers at Cooley.
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What The Future Of AI In Financial Services Looks Like
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the global financial services industry, with a hybrid model likely to evolve where AI handles routine tasks and humans focus on strategy and decision-making, so financial institutions should work with regulators to establish ethical standards and meet regulatory expectations without stifling innovation, say lawyers at Womble Bond.
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The EU Design System Changes US Cos. Need To Know About
With a number of major reforms to the European Union's design protection system set to take effect in the first half of 2025, U.S. companies need to stay informed about specific details to maintain effective intellectual property management in the EU market, say lawyers at Finnegan.
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What New Int'l Treaty Means For Global AI Regulation
Lawyers at Bird & Bird consider how global artificial intelligence regulation will be affected by the first international AI treaty recently signed by the U.S., EU and U.K., as well as its implications for business and several issues that stakeholders should be aware of.
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HMRC Transfer Pricing Guide A Vital Resource For Businesses
HM Revenue & Customs' recent guidelines on common transfer pricing compliance risks should be required reading for affected businesses in indicating HMRC's expected benchmark for documents and policies, say Tomoko Ikawa and Kapisha Vyas at Simmons & Simmons.
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Comparing Apples To Oranges In EPO Claim Interpretation
A referral before the Enlarged Board of Appeal could fundamentally change the role that descriptions play in claims interpretation at the European Patent Office, altering best drafting practices for patent applications construed there, say lawyers at Finnegan.
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Why India May Become A Major Patent Litigation Forum
India is reinventing itself with the goal of becoming a global hot spot for patent litigation, with recent developments at the Delhi High Court creating incentives for plaintiffs to assert patent rights in India, say Ranganath Sudarshan at Covington and IP litigator Udit Sood.
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Takeaways From UPC's Amgen Patent Invalidity Analysis
The Unified Patent Court Central Division's decision in Regeneron v. Amgen to revoke a patent for lack of inventive step is particularly clear in its reasoning and highlights the risks to patentees of the new court's central revocation powers, say Jane Evenson and Caitlin Heard at CMS.
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UK Approach To AI Patentability Appears Settled For Now
After a High Court ruling upended the status quo last year, the Court of Appeal’s recent decision that Emotional Perception’s artificial neural network is not patentable represents a return to the U.K.’s familiar, albeit often complex, approach to patentability of artificial intelligence technology and computer programs generally, say lawyers at Potter Clarkson.
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AI Reforms Prompt Fintech Compliance Considerations
With the EU Artificial Intelligence Act's Aug. 1 enforcement, and the U.K.'s new plans to introduce AI reforms, fintech companies should consider how to best focus limited resources as they balance innovation and compliance, says Nicola Kerr-Shaw at Skadden.
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10 Ways To Manage AI Risks In Service Contracts
With the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act coming into force on Aug. 1 and introducing a new regulatory risk, and with AI technology continuing to develop at pace, parties to services arrangements should employ mechanisms now to build in flexibility and get on the front foot, says James Longster at Travers Smith.
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What Future May Hold For AI Innovation In UK Under Labour
Labour’s recent King's Speech was notable in its absence of discussion of a comprehensive artificial intelligence bill, and while this may indicate to many that the UK is open for business, the party’s approach to cross-sectoral engagement will be critical for shaping Britain's AI landscape in the near term, says Alexander Amato-Cravero at Herbert Smith.