Intellectual Property UK

  • March 23, 2026

    Ferrero Flaunts Reputation To Block Rival's 'Nuvella' TM

    Ferrero Group has persuaded European officials to block a Bulgarian cosmetic brand from registering the trademark "Nuvella," proving that it would unfairly ride the coattails of its popular Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread.

  • March 23, 2026

    Sky Unplugs Tech Co.'s Bid For "Callsky-kids" TM

    Sky has blocked an attempt by a technology company to register the trademark "Callsky-kids" after European officials ruled that consumers are likely to see the name as a new product line by the British media network for children's entertainment.

  • March 23, 2026

    NEC Drops Video Decoder Patent Suit Against Hisense

    Japanese electronics giant NEC has withdrawn its infringement claim at the Unified Patent Court for a video-streaming patent against Chinese appliance maker Hisense.

  • March 23, 2026

    Fresenius Challenges Patents To Launch IBD Drug Biosimilar

    Fresenius has urged a London judge to revoke three patents of its rival Millennium covering a popular treatment for inflammatory bowel disease, arguing that its dosing regimen and ingredients were nothing new as it plans to launch a biosimilar version.

  • March 23, 2026

    Heineken Loses Battle To Block Rival's Drinking Penguin TM

    Heineken has lost its attempt to void a trademark for a penguin drinking from a cocktail glass, failing to convince European Union officials that the public could mix up the sign with its own trademark for a penguin drinking booze.

  • March 20, 2026

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

    The past week in London has seen an ex-professional footballer revive a dispute with Charles Russell Speechlys, Virgin Media face a group data protection claim after hundreds of thousands of customers' personal details were exposed online for months, and Mishcon de Reya sued by a real estate private equity firm founded by a former Morgan Stanley executive.

  • March 20, 2026

    Amazon Fire TV Design Trumps IP Bid For Remote Control

    British officials have rejected an entrepreneur's bid to register a design for a remote control, ruling that it shared one too many similarities with Amazon's existing remote for users navigating the e-commerce giant's Fire TV platform.

  • March 20, 2026

    Drugmaker Can't Extend IP Protections For Contraceptive

    A London court has refused to grant a Spanish pharmaceutical business extended patent protections for its contraceptive drug, ruling Friday that a marketing authorization already existed for the drug.

  • March 20, 2026

    Beatles Label Blocks 'TimeBeatle' EU Trademark Bid

    The Beatles' record label has blocked a "TimeBeatle" trademark application in the European Union, proving that the Chinese applicant had no ticket to ride on the coattails of the Fab Four's reputation.

  • March 20, 2026

    Darts Star Littler Seeks TM For Face In Possible Anti-AI Move

    Darts ace Luke Littler has applied to protect his face with a trademark in the U.K., and lawyers suggested on Friday that the move could help block the exploitation of his likeness through artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes.

  • March 19, 2026

    Nokia, Warner Bros. Seek To End Video-Coding Patent Suit

    Nokia and Warner Bros. on Thursday agreed to end a legal fight in Delaware federal court after the Hollywood studio earlier this month lost its bid to toss claims that it infringed a set of the Finnish company's video-coding patents.

  • March 19, 2026

    Gov't Creates More Questions With Latest Take On AI And IP

    Tech companies and creatives alike have more doubt than ever about the legal framework for artificial intelligence and copyright, following a much-anticipated report on the topic from the government that kicks pressing issues down the road, experts say.

  • March 19, 2026

    Critical Literary Editions Can Qualify For Copyright Protection

    A European court ruled Thursday that a critical edition containing scholarly notes and commentary on an existing copyrighted work can also qualify for protection under European Union law if it is original and more than just a mere idea. 

  • March 19, 2026

    Loewe Wins Bid To Nix Spanish Rival's 'Aoura' Perfume TM

    A European court sided with Spanish luxury giant Loewe in a trademark dispute and nixed a rival's application for "Aoura," ruling that shoppers might confuse its perfumes with the 180-year-old brand's "Aura Loewe" fragrance line for women. 

  • March 19, 2026

    Counterfeit Velcro Claims May Defame Rival, Judge Says

    A London court ruled Thursday that a packaging products supplier's claims that its rival was selling counterfeit Velcro goods on Amazon were factual statements and capable of being defamatory.

  • March 19, 2026

    Clarks, Trek Breached 25-Year-Old Branding Agreement

    A London court ruled Thursday that British shoemaker Clarks and U.S. bike retailer Trek both breached a 25-year-old brand coexistence agreement relating to the use of their respective "Trek" trademarks.

  • March 19, 2026

    Rolls-Royce Sinks Rival's 'V12X' Boat Engine TM At EU Court

    Rolls-Royce has persuaded a European Union court not to restore a rival's "V12X" trademark for marine engines as it successfully showed that the logo simply describes the 12-cylinder power units that its opponent sells.

  • March 18, 2026

    Zara Flexes Fashion Reputation To Trim Turkish Co.'s TM

    The owner of fashion giant Zara has convinced European officials to narrow a Turkish company's trademark application for "Zarify," after proving that shoppers would likely think the Spanish brand controlled the rival's website selling clothes and shoes. 

  • March 18, 2026

    Hugo Boss Bars 'Bosa' TM For Cosmetics In EU

    Hugo Boss has stopped an individual based in China from securing a "Bosa" trademark covering cosmetic goods in the European Union, proving that the brand would unfairly ride on the coattails of its famous "Boss" branding.

  • March 18, 2026

    Calm App Owner Wins Broader Block To 'Calm Therapy' TM

    The company behind popular meditation app Calm has convinced European officials to trim a cosmetic company's trademark bid for "calm therapy" even further, as other beauty treatments overlapped with the app's mental health services.

  • March 18, 2026

    Aldi Loses Bid To Crush Wine Maker's 'Aldo Bottega' TM

    Aldi has failed to convince European officials to nix a famed prosecco producer's trademark application for "Aldo Bottega," as it failed to prove that it had used its earlier "Aldi" sign to sell wine or other registered tipple over a required five-year period.

  • March 18, 2026

    Laser Maker Gets 2nd UPC Injunction To Ban Rival's Sales

    An industrial laser producer has persuaded the Unified Patent Court to limit a competing company's sales in parts of Europe, winning a second injunction against its rival in a matter of weeks.

  • March 18, 2026

    UK Backs Off Plan To Put Burden On Creatives In AI Scraping

    The government has backed away from its proposal to make creatives opt out of having their work used to train artificial intelligence models, after a backlash from the sector saying that the onus should be on AI companies to license their work.

  • March 17, 2026

    UPC Won't Defer To Top EU Court On Evidence Preservation

    Appellate judges at the Unified Patent Court have refused to ask the European Union's top court to clarify when intellectual property owners can seek up-front measures to preserve "relevant evidence" of possible infringement.

  • March 17, 2026

    PE Firm Can't Get Early Win In £50M Software Biz Buyout Case

    A private equity firm has lost its bid for an early win in its £50 million ($66.7 million) claim that the previous owner of a software business it acquired breached warranties by incorrectly stating that the company had necessary software licenses.

Expert Analysis

  • Henry Schein Case Illuminates Maze Of Arbitrability Questions

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court’s Henry Schein decision strengthens the enforceability of arbitration provisions, the Fifth Circuit’s ruling on remand concerning arbitrability authority, exemplifies a need for careful drafting of arbitration clauses, say Andrew Behrman and Brandt Thomas Roessler at Baker Botts.

  • Using Global Dossier To Simplify USPTO Disclosure Duty

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    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can make compliance with its duty of disclosure less burdensome by allowing applicants to submit a list of patent families that are believed to have material information and defining electronically available records broadly to include the Global Dossier, whose use the USPTO recently encouraged, says Brian Dorini of InterDigital CE Holdings.

  • The Unique Challenges Of Owning International Cannabis IP

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    Due to the cost of prosecuting patents and the uncertainty in obtaining and enforcing cannabis patents in foreign jurisdictions, building a global cannabis patent portfolio presents complex strategic questions, says Jayashree Mitra of Zuber Lawler.

  • IP Protection Still Elusive For Data Compilations In US And EU

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    As businesses continue to increase investment into artificial intelligence systems, questions arise as to whether they can own or legally protect data compiled by those systems. Currently, in the U.S. and EU, obtaining copyright protection for databases is difficult and trade secret protection requires policies and procedures to establish rights, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Perspectives

    Artisanal Miners' Roadblocks To Justice: Is A Path Clearing?

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    Efforts to give small-scale gold miners, who face displacement, pollution and violence at sites around the world, access to fair and functioning justice systems have met with apathy from politicians and fierce resistance from powerful business lobbies, but there are signs that this may be changing, says Mark Pieth, president of the Basel Institute on Governance.

  • How PTAB Is Applying New Patent Eligibility Guidance

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    Since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office released its revised patent eligibility guidance in January, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has been reversing Section 101 rejections at a higher rate, say Nick Anderson and Braden Katterheinrich of Faegre Baker Daniels.

  • Keys To Successful AI Patents In The US And Europe

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    Unsurprisingly, the World Intellectual Property Organization recently reported that patent filings for artificial intelligence inventions are increasing rapidly. Stakeholders should be mindful of maintaining quality during this filing surge, says Drew Schulte of Haley Guiliano LLP.

  • 9 Ways To Prepare Your IP Rights For Brexit

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    Those with a European intellectual property portfolio should be considering how Brexit — scheduled for March 29 — will affect EU trademarks and registered community designs, says Paula Jill Krasny of Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC.

  • 'Biosimilar V. Biosimilar' Patent Case May Be First Of Many

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    ​While the idea of patent disputes between makers of follow-on drugs is nothing new​, the complaint recently filed by Coherus against Amgen in Delaware federal court is unique in that it pits one biosimilar developer against another, say attorneys with Goodwin Procter LLP.

  • UK Patent Law: Hot Topics Of 2018 And What's Ahead

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    English courts have been active in the past year, grappling with patent topics like plausibility and equivalents, and 2019 promises to be another exciting year as English patent lawyers await developments on obviousness, insufficiency and employee inventor compensation, says Jin Ooi of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

  • Coordinating Patent Strategies Across PTAB And EPO

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    The positions, arguments and prior art raised in U.S. post-grant proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board may influence European Patent Office oppositions involving counterpart cases. Understanding the procedural similarities and differences between the two jurisdictions is key, says Drew Schulte of Haley Guiliano LLP.

  • New EU Patent Guidelines May Affect Companies' AI Strategy

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    As compared to the European Patent Office’s guidelines for artificial intelligence and machine learning — which take effect on Thursday — the U.S. eligibility framework may prove to be more favorable to innovators, say Jennifer Maisel and Eric Blatt of Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck PC​​​​​​​.

  • Intellectual Property Caught In US-China Trade Crossfire

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    Earlier this year, President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese products as a response to China’s trade practices concerning technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. The U.S.-Chinese trade war highlights the need to approach investments in China differently, taking a broad view of intellectual assets and looking beyond basic legal protection, says Holly White, a consultant at Rouse & Co.

  • Patent Eligibility Assessments: US Approach Vs. UK Approach

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    Techniques used to address questions of obviousness in the U.K. may prove useful to practitioners addressing questions of patent eligibility in the U.S., say Christopher Carroll and Charles Larsen of White & Case LLP.

  • Surveying The CRISPR Patent War

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    Following this week’s oral argument at the Federal Circuit in University of California v. Broad Institute, there has been a surge of interest in the long-running CRISPR patent dispute. There are battles raging on multiple fronts, particularly in Europe, with several more on deck in the U.S., and maybe even in China, says Michael Stramiello of Paul Hastings LLP.

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