Expert Analysis

• Evaluating M&S Bottle Design Infringement Case Against Aldi

  

  A central issue in Marks & Spencer's recently filed intellectual property infringement suit over Aldi's Gold Flake Gin Liqueur bottles may be whether the informed user would have the same overall impression from the M&S registered bottle design and the Aldi designs, say Alex Borthwick and Fraser Simpson at Powell Gilbert.

• Brexit's Effect On UK Trademarks, 1 Year Later

  

  Charlotte Wilding at Wedlake Bell discusses the status of U.K. trademark rules and regulations one year post-Brexit, including a potential increase in intellectual property rights and challenges, delays at the Intellectual Property Office and a growth of innovation and divergence.

• Opinion

  Filing For Patents In Ukraine Is A Viable ESG Strategy

  

  As part of their environmental, social and corporate governance efforts, U.S. companies should consider seeking patent protection in Ukraine, supporting the country in a way that may pay off financially as Ukraine modernizes its economy and integrates with Europe, says Mark Mathison at Kilpatrick.

• Germany's Google Controls Illustrate Global Antitrust Trend

  

  Germany's recent move to rein in Google with extended restrictions on anti-competitive behavior provides an example of the new aggressive stance regulators around the world are adopting as tech giants grow their power in the digital economy, says Andrea Pomana at ADVANT Beiten.

• Opinion

  Solution To Patent Eligibility Quagmire Lies In Constitution

  

  A lack of clarity on patent eligibility has undermined the credibility of the patent system, and a possible resolution is for courts or Congress to define judicial exceptions to patent-eligible subject matter in their most concise form — in line with constitutional guarantees, says Indi Rajasingham at the Mmillenniumm Group.

• Examining EU's Drift Toward US-Style Employer Pact Scrutiny

  

  As European Union competition authorities express enforcement interest in employment issues such as no-poach and wage-fixing agreements — which have been the subject of U.S. enforcement action for some time — companies may need to recalibrate their training and compliance programs accordingly, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• What SEP Holders Can Take Away From UK's Apple Ruling

  

  A U.K. court's recent decision in the standard essential patent dispute between Apple and Optis Cellular Technology provides encouragement for SEP owners litigating their portfolios in the U.K. and reaffirms the country's place as a patentee-friendly jurisdiction, says Tess Waldron at Powell Gilbert.

• AI Inventorship Decision Leaves Open Questions

  

  A Virginia federal court's recent decision in Thaler v. Iancu, finding that artificial intelligence cannot be named as a patent inventor, highlights questions that will have to be answered as AI increasingly contributes to inventorship, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• What Patent Applications Signal About Green Energy Trends

  

  Steadily increasing patent activity related to clean energy technologies suggests that the proportion of energy derived from green sources will also continue to grow — but smaller companies could be locked out of the patent race, even as sustainability becomes an inescapable business imperative, says Greg Sharp at Haseltine Lake.

• Takeaways On Pre-Action Protocols From UK Patent Ruling

  

  The U.K. High Court's recent patent ruling in Add2 Research v. dSpace instructs parties in proper pre-action discussions that avoid breaches of protocol, including how to provide materials in confidence, say Angela Jack and Emily Atherton at EIP.

• 6 Ways To Guide Applications Under New Patent Classification

  

  Intellectual property practitioners can navigate the recently implemented Cooperative Patent Classification system to direct applications to specific prior art units within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, avoid especially difficult units, and improve clients' portfolios in newly emerging technologies, say Roberta Young and Brian Michaelis at Seyfarth.

• Mitigating User Content Risk After EU Copyright Directive

  

  As the deadline approaches for member states to implement the European Union’s new copyright directive, which will hold certain online content service providers liable for copyright infringement pertaining to user-uploaded content, companies should have risk-mitigation strategies in place, say attorneys at MoFo.

• The Pandemic's Bright Spots For Lawyers Who Are Parents

  

  The COVID-19 crisis has allowed lawyers to hone remote advocacy strategies and effectively represent clients with minimal travel — abilities that have benefited working parents and should be utilized long after the pandemic is over, says Chelsea Loughran at Wolf Greenfield.

• ITC Seems Unlikely To Stay Investigations For Parallel IPRs

  

  The U.S. International Trade Commission's recent order denying Ocado's attempt to stay a dispute with AutoStore pending resolution of its inter partes review petitions signals that an ITC complainant's patents are effectively shielded from IPR challenges, at least under current Patent Trial and Appeal Board practice, say attorneys at Reichman Jorgensen.

• A Framework For Evaluating Willingness Of FRAND Licensees

  

  As an increasing number of standard-essential patent cases turn on whether a manufacturer is willing to pay a fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory royalty for SEPs, Jorge Contreras at the University of Utah identifies conduct that typically indicates willingness or unwillingness, as well as conduct that should be viewed as indeterminate.