Intellectual Property UK

  • April 21, 2026

    Distillery Denies Infringing Brewery's 'Titanic' TM

    A British distillery has denied infringing a brewery's "Titanic" trademark covering beers, telling a London court that its own Titanic brand has "peacefully coexisted" in the separate market for gin.

  • April 21, 2026

    Apple Sues Tech Biz In Wireless Charging Licensing Row

    Apple has accused an Israeli tech company of demanding excessive fees for wireless charging patents and using parallel litigation in the U.S. to pressure the iPhone maker into accepting an unfair licensing deal. 

  • April 21, 2026

    TomTom Rebuts £5.2M Royalties Claim From Parking Biz

    TomTom has denied owing £5.2 million ($7 million) in royalties under a licensing agreement with a company that indexes car park locations, arguing at a London court that its opponent owes money under the deal.

  • April 27, 2026

    The 2026 UK Lawyer Satisfaction Survey: Where Do You Stand?

    How is your work-life balance? Are you content with your compensation and opportunities for advancement at work? Take the 2026 Law360 UK Pulse Lawyer Satisfaction Survey and share your thoughts.

  • April 20, 2026

    Abbott Wins Glucose Monitor Sales Ban On Appeal At UPC

    Abbott has persuaded appellate judges at the Unified Patent Court to stop Sinocare selling certain glucose monitoring displays in Europe, proving that its Chinese rival's devices are likely to have infringed its patent.

  • April 20, 2026

    Royal Family Textile Supplier Denies Copying Fern Print

    A fabric and wallpaper supplier for the British royal family has denied claims that it stole a rival's copyrighted designs, arguing that it had independently come up with a wavy pattern of ferns. 

  • April 20, 2026

    Ronaldo's Perfume Gets Red Card In 'Origins' TM Dispute

    A subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies has blocked a "Cristiano Ronaldo Origins" trademark application in the U.K. by showing that the mark could take unfair advantage of its existing "Origins" skincare brand.

  • April 20, 2026

    EU 'Pastiche' Ruling Offers New Tool For Copyright Defense

    The European Union's top court has in principle opened the door for creatives to skirt copyright protections if the use of another's work is considered pastiche, and lawyers expect to see the previously obscure copyright exception become a popular defense.

  • April 20, 2026

    Ferrari Puts Brakes On F355 Kit Car Sales In Netherlands

    Ferrari has persuaded a Dutch court to prevent an opponent from selling kit-car versions of the F355 sports car as it proved that the replica models infringed its copyright over the design of the vehicle.

  • April 17, 2026

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

    The past week in London has seen Aston Martin file an appeal in a row with Chinese carmaker Geely over its winged logo for London black cabs, Ineos sue Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team for a £180 million ($244 million) boat, White & Case face a claim from two energy storage companies, and a golf tour company bring a claim against Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund after the fund invested in its rival.

  • April 17, 2026

    Maastricht University Loses Cryogenic Patent To IP Firm

    European appellate officials have nixed a university's patent for a method of freezing biological samples, ruling that it required "extensive experimentation" for a skilled inventor to carry it out and lacked clarity.

  • April 17, 2026

    Aston Martin Sues Shareholder After Wing Logo Row

    Aston Martin has sued in a London court a Chinese rival that uses a winged logo for its electric car brand it failed to convince U.K. IP examiners to nix the trademark, ramping up a dispute between the luxury carmaker and its third-biggest shareholder.

  • April 17, 2026

    EU Updates Tech Licensing Rules For Data-Heavy Economy

    The European Commission has updated 12-year-old rules governing technology licensing agreements, with major changes meant to reflect new market practices following an explosion in data-focused transactions. 

  • April 17, 2026

    UPC Tells TCL To Stop Selling TVs That Infringe Glass Patent

    The Unified Patent Court has ordered electronics company TCL to stop selling any televisions in Germany that might infringe a glassmaking patent belonging to U.S. materials business Corning.

  • April 16, 2026

    Rolex Wins Patent Row For Mechanical Watch Part

    Rolex SA has successfully blocked a challenge from rival Horage SA to its patent for a watch mechanism designed to reduce energy consumption when telling the time, with European officials finding that the design was not obvious to a skilled person.

  • April 16, 2026

    Imax Nixes Chinese Co.'s 'Imaxsmart' TM Over TVs

    Film production technology giant Imax has convinced European officials to revoke a Chinese company's trademark for "Imaxsmart" over LED screen displays, televisions and video projectors but failed to stop the rival from marketing a range of other products with the "Imax" name.

  • April 16, 2026

    EU Says Farmers In N. Ireland Can Use 'Irish Beef' Label

    A European Union court has rejected an Irish farming coalition's attempt to void a protected geographical indication for "Irish Grass Fed Beef" that covers products in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

  • April 16, 2026

    Pharma Biz Can't Prove 'Ibumax' TM Can Live With Rival IP

    A Finnish pharmaceutical company has failed to convince a European court that it deserves to stamp painkillers with the trademark "Ibumax-Lysin" because it would confuse shoppers already accustomed to a Polish rival's Ibum-branded medicine. 

  • April 16, 2026

    Heineken's 'Leonhart' TM Victory Upended At EU Court

    A European Union court has overturned a successful challenge by Heineken against a Polish coffee company's "Leonhart" trademark application, ruling that shoppers would not confuse the mark with the brewery's earlier "El Leon" sign.

  • April 15, 2026

    Typeface Designer Appeals Unpaid Royalties Claim Loss

    A font designer told a London appeals court Wednesday that a judge wrongly struck out her claim against a type foundry for unpaid royalties as an abuse of process, arguing she was entitled to bring the case after settling earlier copyright litigation with the company.

  • April 15, 2026

    Historic Singaporean Tea Co. Loses TMs In Clipper Fight

    A historic family tea business has lost a handful of trademarks incorporating the imagery of a classic 19th century clipper sailing ship, after a rival tea brand convinced British officials that it had already cornered the tea market with its "Clipper" brand of organic tea.

  • April 15, 2026

    Re-Uz Sues Rival Over 'Eco Cup' Marks, Client Data

    A group of companies specializing in sustainable cups has sued a competitor, accusing it of infringing its marks in branding for its reusable cups and misusing its trade secrets to poach clients.

  • April 15, 2026

    Ocado Wins Patent Appeal For Robot-Handling System 

    Ocado has persuaded European officials that its patent for a robot-handling system is inventive, with an appeals board finding that its use of sensors on either side of the robot improved tracking and operating speeds when carrying storage containers. 

  • April 15, 2026

    Anker Settles UPC Clash With Israeli Tech Biz

    The Unified Patent Court has shut down a wireless charging patent infringement claim from an Israeli tech company against electronic consumer goods business Anker after the companies reached an out-of-court settlement.

  • April 14, 2026

    Fridge Camera Buyer Can't Use Contract Mix-Up To Win £100M

    A London judge has ruled that a U.K. appliance company cannot use a clear error in a supply contract to win more than £100 million ($136 million) from a Chinese manufacturer for failing to deliver refrigerator cameras.

Expert Analysis

  • What's In The Plan To Boost Germany's Commercial Litigation

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    Lawyers at Cleary discuss Germany's recent draft bill, which establishes commercial courts and introduces English as a court language in civil proceedings, and analyze whether it accomplishes the country's goal of becoming a more attractive venue for commercial litigation.

  • Bitcoin Case Highlights Advanced Age Of UK's IP Law

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    An appellate court's recent decision in a case involving the copyright of bitcoin's file format emphasizes the role of copyright protection in software, and also the challenges of applying decades-old laws to new technologies, say Marianna Foerg and Ben Bell at Potter Clarkson.

  • Future Paths For AI Inventorship After Justices' Thaler Denial

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    Anup Iyer at Moore & Van Allen examines the current and future state of AI inventorship in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to hear Thaler v. Vidal, including collaboration, international challenges, and the need for closer examination in research and development-intensive sectors.

  • EU Ruling Highlights Strategic Benefits Of Patent Appeals

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    The European Patent Office board of appeal recently reversed the examining board's ruling in an application by LG Electronics, highlighting how applicants struggling to escape conflicting objection traps at the examination level can improve their chances of a positive outcome with an appeal, says Andrew Rudhall at Haseltine Lake.

  • Series

    In A 'Barbie' World: Boosting IP Value With Publicity Machines

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    Mattel's history of intellectual property monitoring, including its recent challenge against Burberry over the "BRBY" trademark ahead of the "Barbie" film, shows how IP enforcement strategies can be used as publicity to increase brand value and inform potential collaborations, says Carly Duckett at Shepherd and Wedderburn.

  • UPC Revocation Actions Offer An Attractive Patent Strategy

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    As the Unified Patent Court gains momentum after an initial period of nervousness around the recently launched forum, more businesses may be starting to realize the value of running revocation actions as an alternative route to knocking out patents across Europe, say Oliver Laing and Georgia Carr at Potter Clarkson.

  • 5 Takeaways For Litigants From Early EU Patent Court Ruling

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    One of the first Unified Patent Court ex parte preliminary injunctions was recently granted in myStromer v. Revolt Zycling, demonstrating the court's ability to decide cases extremely quickly, but parties should be careful in phrasing their motions and sufficiently substantiating them to achieve the desired result, says Antje Brambrink at Finnegan.

  • Copyright Cheat Sheet: Finding Substantially Similar Songs

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    Using the recent copyright infringement case against Ed Sheeran over his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" as a case study, forensic musicologist Ethan Lustig provides an overview for attorneys of which musical elements do and do not, when altered, create the sense of a new or distinct composition — a determination increasingly sought from experts in court.

  • Barbie Deals Should Remind Brands Of IP Licensing Benefits

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    Mattel Inc.'s recent licensing of the Barbie trademark — one of the biggest licensing campaigns of recent history — illustrates that, as long as risks are managed properly, intellectual property licensing can form part of the overall business strategy and benefit both parties, say Maria Peyman and Anousha Vasantha at Birketts.

  • Lessons On Cricket Patent History And IP Protection At UPC

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    On the heels of the creation of the Unified Patent Court in Europe, Susan Bradley at Marks & Clerk looks at how its development is interwoven with the history of cricket, and why inventors in that field have always taken advantage of the latest developments in intellectual property protection.

  • Factors To Consider In Protecting Software With Trade Secrets

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    With trade secrets protecting subject matter that would not otherwise be eligible for a patent now a mainstay of many multinationals’ intellectual property strategies, software developers have a number of considerations in deciding whether this is a viable alternative to protect their invention, says Dave Clark at Potter Clarkson.

  • A Look At US Injunctive Relief Trends Amid UPC Chatter

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    While much remains to be seen regarding how the new EU Unified Patent Court will treat injunctive relief in practice, recent data shows that the U.S. framework may be turning in favor of injunction, despite a perception that it can be nearly impossible to obtain in the U.S., say Nirav Desai, Patrick Murray and Roberta Lam at Sterne Kessler.

  • Navigating Europe's New Game-Changing Unified Patent Court

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    Europe's recently opened Unified Patent Court has ushered in a new era in patent law focused on the power of provisional relief, and adapting to both broad protections and compressed timelines is essential for plaintiffs and defendants alike, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Copyright Trial Defense Tips From 'Thinking Out Loud' Case

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    The twofold defense strategy that earned Ed Sheeran his recent "Thinking Out Loud" copyright trial victory revealed the strength of a musician's testimony, the importance of a consistent narrative and the power of public policy arguments when combating infringement claims, say Jonathan Phillips and Latrice Burks at Larson.

  • Getty Case Will Be Pivotal For Generative AI Copyright Issues

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    The Getty v. Stability AI litigation in the U.K. and U.S. raises legal ambiguities on who owns generative artificial intelligence output, and the outcomes will set a major precedent on copyright practices for businesses in both countries and beyond, say Victoria Albrecht at Springbok AI and Mark O'Conor at DLA Piper.

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