Intellectual Property UK

  • July 20, 2026

    J&J Unit Infringed Blood Cancer Patent, US Gov't Says

    The U.S. has accused a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary of infringing a U.S. government patent covering a blood cancer treatment, stepping up its response amid an ongoing claim that the patent is invalid.

  • July 20, 2026

    Jaguar Puts Brakes On Ineos' Bid To Nix Defender Design

    Jaguar Land Rover has defeated Ineos Automotive's bid to invalidate the trademark protecting its classic Defender design, after European officials ruled the off-road vehicle's shape remains widely recognizable by consumers across the bloc.

  • July 20, 2026

    Atari Sues Alleged Copycat Firm In Passing Off Claim

    Video game giant Atari has sued an alleged copycat company, seeking damages and an injunction to prevent it from using the Atari name after claiming it deliberately infringed trademarks associated with its 54-year-old brand.

  • July 20, 2026

    Alibaba Co. Fined €550M By EU Over Illegal, Unsafe Products

    The European Union fined online retailer AliExpress €550 million ($629 million) on Monday for failing to prevent the sale of illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products on its platform, the largest-ever financial penalty handed for breaching the bloc's digital rules.

  • July 17, 2026

    InterDigital Drops Amazon UPC Case For Arbitration

    InterDigital has formally dropped its bid to block Amazon from infringing its video streaming intellectual property at Europe's patent court after the two companies agreed to resolve their dispute through arbitration.   

  • July 17, 2026

    Anne Frank Ruling Balances Public Access And IP Online

    A ruling by Europe's highest court that geo-blocking measures can sufficiently restrict public access to works from territories where copyright remains in force strikes an effective balance between protecting territorial IP rights and allowing public domain works to proliferate, experts say.

  • July 17, 2026

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

    The past week in London has seen Snapchat and Dolby press on with a fresh infringement claim in their ongoing patent battle, The Telegraph face an intellectual property claim by a photo archive, a group of international human rights barristers and chambers sued, and oil business Equinor embroiled in a contract dispute with BP after recently acquiring full ownership in their offshore project. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • July 17, 2026

    UPC Scraps Inspection For Reactor Used In EU Research

    Europe's patent court has revoked an inspection order that allowed a sustainable technology company to open up a rival's containers to check whether a hydrogen reactor was infringing its patent, as the reactor was clearly being used for experimental purposes as part of an EU research project. 

  • July 17, 2026

    Nutella Can't Bin Mushroom Extract Brand 'Nutera' TM

    Chocolate giant Ferrero has failed to persuade European officials that shoppers would see "Nutera"-branded vitamin drinks and think they were linked to Ferrero's popular "Nutella" hazelnut chocolate spread, as their markets don't overlap enough.  

  • July 17, 2026

    Axed Sports Data Employee Denies Misusing Confidential Info

    A former employee of a sports data firm has denied misusing any confidential information in breach of his employment contract, telling a London court that he emailed himself documents only to preserve evidence during a "flawed" disciplinary process.

  • July 16, 2026

    L'Oréal Can't Block Rival's Hair Treatment Patent

    European officials have dismissed L'Oréal's attacks against a rival's hair bleaching and coloring kit that aims to reduce damage, ruling that the original claims were obvious but an amended form adding a specific ingredient was new. 

  • July 16, 2026

    Plastics Biz Denies Copying 'Dragons' Den' Shower Caddy

    A plastics manufacturer has pushed back against claims from a "Dragons' Den"-winning shower products company that it is infringing design rights over a rustproof, glue-on shower caddy, arguing the rights were invalid to begin with.

  • July 16, 2026

    Next Says Smiling Jellycat Toy Design Is Too Common To Be IP

    British retailer Next has pushed back against toymaker Jellycat's claims that a biscuit-shaped cushion and doorstop were copies of its "Amuseables" plush toy range, arguing that simple facial features on soft toys is not unique to the popular brand.

  • July 16, 2026

    Publishers Can Claim Author Copyright Share, EU Court Told

    Publishers who own certain copyrights should be able to claim a share of authors' compensation for the reproduction of their works alongside any standard cut they may receive as publishers, an adviser to the European Union's top court said Thursday.

  • July 16, 2026

    Chanel Blocks Chinese Rival's 'Amococo' Skin Cleanser TM

    Chanel has persuaded European Union officials to block a Chinese company's application for an "Amococo" trademark covering skin cleanser and other goods, proving that the brand comes too close to its famous "Coco" label.

  • July 15, 2026

    OpenAI Name Too Descriptive For TM, EU Court Says

    A European court on Wednesday rejected OpenAI's bid for another shot at registering its name as a trademark, finding the term focused too heavily on describing artificial intelligence and related tech that the company offers.

  • July 15, 2026

    Halozyme Can't Block MSD From Selling Cancer Jab In Europe

    A Dutch court refused to grant Halozyme an injunction against Merck Sharp & Dohme stopping it from marketing an injectable cancer treatment in a slew of European countries, ruling that the rival hadn't made any promises to avoid the market while the case was ongoing.

  • July 15, 2026

    Security Co. Accuses Distributor Of Selling Copycat Tech

    A security firm has accused its U.K. distributor of copying its unregistered rights in two security towers used for autonomous 360-degree surveillance, after allegedly identifying products that looked similar to its own in a LinkedIn post.

  • July 15, 2026

    Photographer Sues Luxury Lifestyle Co. Over Image Use

    A photographer has sued Fairfax & Favor over allegations that the English luxury brand has continued using his copyrighted work beyond the terms of their initial licensing agreement and has profited from doing so without his consent. 

  • July 15, 2026

    Gap Unit Fails To Stop Vetements' 'Spinning' Windmill TM

    Fashion brand Vetements has persuaded European officials to reject a bid by a Gap athleisure subsidiary to block a trademark application for a windmill-shaped logo, as it found that consumers would immediately be able to tell the two brands apart. 

  • July 15, 2026

    Google's Attack On Cloud Computing Patent Meets Pushback

    A U.S. company has defended its data processing patent amid an ongoing infringement claim against Google, urging a London court to dismiss the tech giant's argument that the patent contains nothing inventive.

  • July 14, 2026

    Display Maker Says AI-Made Images Don't Infringe Rival's IP

    An exhibition stand supplier has pushed back against claims that it infringed a rival's copyright by using copycat photographs to market products online, arguing that it used artificial intelligence tools to create ultimately distinct images.

  • July 14, 2026

    Snapchat Sues Dolby In Clash Over Patented Video Tech

    Snapchat has brought an action against Dolby in a London court after the two companies recently clashed in the U.S. and Brazil over the audio technology giant's patented video compression technology.

  • July 14, 2026

    UPC Opens Simpler Path To Defense Of Dependent Claims

    European appellate judges have clarified that patent owners need not amend their patents to defend dependent claims, strengthening their ability to rely on narrower fallback claims when broader ones are challenged.

  • July 14, 2026

    HDMI Connector Shape Can't Function As TM, EUIPO Says

    The licensing company for the HDMI technology standard cannot register a trademark depicting the front-facing connecting component of a cable, as European officials ruled that shoppers would not see this shape as expressing anything beyond HDMI compatibility.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Ways To Address The Legal Risks Of Employee AI Use

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    Employees’ use of unauthorized artificial intelligence tools has become a regulatory issue, and in-house legal counsel are best placed to close the gap between governance controls and innovation, mitigating the risk of organizations' exposure to noncompliance with European Union and U.K. data protection requirements, say lawyers at MoFo.

  • EU-US Data Transfer Ruling Offers Reassurance To Cos.

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    The European Union General Court’s recent upholding of the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework in Latombe v. European Commission, although subject to appeal, provides companies with legal certainty for the first time by allowing the transfer of European Economic Area personal data without relying on alternative mechanisms, say lawyers at Wilson Sonsini.

  • Between The Lines Of EPO's Adoption Of Color Drawings

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    The European Patent Office's decision to accept patent drawings in color starting in October may enhance clarity in technical disclosures and streamline the examination process, and could also enable new patent filing strategies for international applicants, say attorneys at Miller Canfield.

  • How WTO's Anti-Suit Injunction Ruling Affects IP Stakeholders

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    The World Trade Organization's recent ruling in favor of the European Union's challenge to Chinese courts' anti-suit injunction practices should hearten holders of standard-essential patents, while implementers can take solace that they retain mechanisms to distinguish the WTO decision when seeking anti-suit injunctions in U.S. courts, says Michael Franzinger at Dentons.

  • How Logo Confusion Ruling Expands TM Protection

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    The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Iconix v. Dream Pairs confirms that postsale confusion is actionable in trademark infringement claims, and also warns appellate courts to not rewrite lower courts' factual analyses, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.

  • IP Considerations As UK Maintains Exhaustion Regime

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    The U.K. government's decision to keep its existing regime of exhaustion of intellectual property rights means IP owners should review their existing and new European distribution agreements to account for the different regimes in the U.K. and European Union, says Rebecca Anderson-Smith at Mewburn Ellis.

  • EPO Ruling On Claim Interpretation Will Have Broad Impact

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    The European Patent Office Enlarged Board of Appeal’s recent decision, finding that the description and drawings in a patent should always be consulted to interpret claims, will fundamentally change how the EPO interprets patent claims in both examination and opposition proceedings, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Challenges Law Firms Face In Recruiting Competitor Teams

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    Since the movement of lawyer teams from a competitor can bring legal considerations and commercial risks into play, both the target and recruiting firms should be familiar with the relevant limited liability partnership deed to protect their business, say lawyers at Fox & Partners.

  • Fashion IP Lessons From UK Design Rights Ruling

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    The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court’s recent ruling in Edwards v. Boohoo.com illustrates the challenges that independent designers face when attempting to enforce unregistered design rights in an era dominated by fast fashion, while also highlighting the utility of the IPEC, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Should Patent Disputes Be Filed In The ITC Or UPC?

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    When companies must choose between initiating patent litigation in the U.S. International Trade Commission or the European Union's Unified Patent Court, the ITC may offer a few distinct advantages, but ultimately the decision requires consideration of case-specific factors, say attorneys at White & Case.

  • Prospects And Challenges For Expert Evidence At The UPC

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    Expert testimony on economic or damages-related issues will likely play a larger part in Unified Patent Court proceedings in the near future, potentially presenting unique challenges for experts, counsel and judges alike, say analysts at Charles River.

  • Strategies For Litigating In The Unified Patent Court

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    Since opening its gates two years ago, the European Unified Patent Court has transformed the patent litigation landscape and global litigation strategies, but parties seeking to take advantage of the court's robust processes must be prepared for the front-loaded character of UPC proceedings, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Incorporating UKIPO Guidance Into AI Patent Strategies

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    Updated guidance from the U.K. Intellectual Property Office sheds light on how it assesses patents for artificial intelligence inventions and highlights approaches that improve applicants' options for demonstrating that AI provides a technical contribution, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Clarity On Knotty Patent Jurisdiction Questions From CJEU

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    The recent ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union in BSH v. Electrolux sheds light on how the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court competes with that of the EU member state courts over infringement and validity actions, and could extend international jurisdiction of the EU courts in several ways, say lawyers at August Debouzy.

  • Russia Sanctions Spotlight: Divergent Approaches Emerge

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    With indications of greater divergence and uncertainty in Russia sanctions policy between the U.K., European Union and U.S., there are four general principles and a range of compliance steps that businesses should bear in mind when assessing the impact of a potentially shifting landscape, says Alexandra Melia at Steptoe.

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