Intellectual Property UK

  • June 13, 2025

    Baby-Clothes Maker Fights Amazon Ban In Bike Design Row

    A baby-clothes maker has sued a homewares retailer for getting one of its Amazon product listings struck off the site, arguing that it didn't infringe the retailer's registered design because the bike accessory concept wasn't new. 

  • June 13, 2025

    UPC To Roll Out New Case Management System In 2 Stages

    The Unified Patent Court has said that it will roll out its new case management system in two stages, explaining that lawyers will have to continue using the existing system to file cases and applications until September.

  • June 13, 2025

    LG Secures Patent For Video Compressing Device

    South Korean tech conglomerate LG Electronics has swayed officials at the European Patent Office to overturn a decision refusing its patent for a video compression technique aimed at reducing memory use and processing demands.

  • June 13, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen Tottenham Hotspur FC kick off against Manchester United co-owner Ineos Automotive following a soured sponsorship deal, Acer and Nokia clash over patents for video coding technology, and two investors reignite litigation against the founders of an AI exercise bike business that unlawfully pocketed $1.2 million in investments to fund their own lifestyles. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • June 13, 2025

    American Furniture Brand Can TM 'Furnico' Despite 'Furneco'

    A furniture maker has won its bid to register "Furnico" as a trademark despite a rival U.K. company having already registered "Furneco," after British officials ruled that its presence on the U.S. market for almost 20 years gave it a leg up. 

  • June 13, 2025

    Philip Morris Loses Bid To Invalidate E-Cigarette Patent

    A subsidiary of the tobacco company behind Golden Virginia and Rizla has held on to its electronic smoking device patent at a European appellate board, snubbing opposition by Philip Morris.

  • June 12, 2025

    Anti-Piracy Firm Founder Denies Undermining Company

    The founder of an anti-piracy technology company has pushed back on claims that he made disparaging comments about the business to clients and misused its confidential information when he departed.

  • June 12, 2025

    Google Beats Media Co.'s Fresh Appeal For 'Shorts' TM

    Google LLC has fended off a London media company's appeal against an earlier decision to partially cancel its "Shorts" trademark, marking the latest chapter in a years-long trademark tussle over the rights to the word in the world of short-form video.

  • June 12, 2025

    Christian Group Can't Register 'He Gets Us' As EU TM 

    A U.S. evangelical Christian group can't register as a European trademark the Jesus-focused "He Gets Us" slogan popularized by the group's Super Bowl ads because European officials found this week that consumers would understand it described the organization's religious promotional services. 

  • June 12, 2025

    Pet Clothes Biz Says Rival Copied Medical Shirt Design

    A Dutch company that makes shirts for pets to wear after treatment has launched legal proceedings against a U.K. rival for allegedly infringing its copyright by selling a range of shirts "highly similar" to its own pet recovery garments.

  • June 11, 2025

    Coinbase Loses 'Bad Faith' TM Clash With Rival At EU Court

    A European Union court tossed Coinbase's latest attempt to void a Japanese crypto exchange's "coinbase" trademark on Wednesday, ruling there was no proof the company acted in bad faith by registering the mark.

  • June 11, 2025

    Carlsberg, Heineken Must Face Attacks On Barley Drink Patent

    European officials will have to reconsider a patent for a barley-based beverage owned by Carlsberg and Heineken, after an appeals board ruled that a decision rejecting oppositions to the invention suffered from "fundamental deficiencies."

  • June 11, 2025

    Sherwin-Williams Lays Farrow & Ball 'Dead Flat' TM To Rest

    Luxury paint company Farrow & Ball has lost its trademark "dead flat" after a U.S. rival convinced U.K. trademark officials that the mark is merely an industry-standard description of a type of paint finish.

  • June 11, 2025

    Baklava Biz Denies Trying To Pass As Established Coffee Co.

    A London dessert shop has denied claims that it copied the trademarks of a 150-year-old Turkish coffee brand to mislead consumers into buying baklavas and other regional treats. 

  • June 11, 2025

    McDonald's Wins Big Mac TM Battle With Irish Fast Food Biz

    McDonald's has persuaded European Union officials to block two trademark applications from Supermac's, an Irish fast food chain, leaving its opponent in a pickle after proving there was a risk of confusion with its "Big Mac" branding.

  • June 11, 2025

    EasyGroup Keeps 'EasyPod' UK TM Hopes Alive

    Value brand company easyGroup has fought off an attempt to block its "easyPod" trademark application in the U.K., convincing officials that consumers will not confuse the sign with a storage company's "Pods" brand.

  • June 10, 2025

    Stability AI Chides Getty's 'Cynical' Bid To Find Infringing Pics

    Stability AI, the makers of generative AI model Stable Diffusion, fired back Tuesday at claims that it had infringed Getty Images' intellectual property, claiming that Getty has failed to point to any instances of real world infringement. 

  • June 10, 2025

    MPs Shun Peers' AI Copyright Transparency Pleas Once More

    MPs voted again on Tuesday to reject an amendment from peers to a pending bill that would require artificial intelligence developers to be transparent about the copyrighted material they use to develop their models.

  • June 10, 2025

    IBM Seeks £1.6M After Winning Reverse-Engineering Claim

    IBM has said that LzLabs must pay over £1.6 million ($2.2 million) in damages for reverse-engineering its software products in order to build a rival platform, adding to the Swiss company's £20 million bill.

  • June 10, 2025

    Nokia Loses Patent For 5G-Segmentation Method

    European appellate officials refused to grant Nokia a patent for a system to improve network transmissions, ruling that a previous system already revealed its key method for breaking down large data packets into smaller segments.

  • June 10, 2025

    Gene-Editing Biotech Says Rivals Infringed CRISPR Patent

    A Korean biotech company has accused several companies of infringing its CRISPR gene-editing patent in the U.K., telling a London court that they must enter a license to use the technology.

  • June 09, 2025

    Australian Beauty Biz Can't Register 'XTendlash' Mascara TM

    A cosmetics company based in Sydney, Australia, has lost its attempt to register the trademark "Xtendlash" for mascara, after European trademark officials found that "extend" and "lash" was a direct description of the purpose of the eye makeup product.

  • June 09, 2025

    Researcher Can't Get UK Patent For Colon Cancer Treatment

    U.K. intellectual property officials have rejected a researcher's application for a patent covering a colon cancer treatment, ruling that it isn't sufficiently new over one of her own earlier publications.

  • June 09, 2025

    Orange Loses TM Protections For Physical Products

    French telecoms giant Orange has lost some of the rights covered by its "Orange" trademarks after U.K. officials agreed with a Romanian businessman that the signs for physical goods could literally describe the products as having an orange color.

  • June 09, 2025

    Getty's 'Day Of Reckoning' Begins As Stability AI Trial Opens

    Getty Images opened its landmark copyright infringement case against Stability AI Monday by accusing the technology company of building its generative AI model on millions of images with "complete indifference" for underlying intellectual property protections.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Opinion

    UK Court Of Appeal's FRAND Ruling Is Troubling

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    The U.K. Court of Appeal's recent decision in Optis v. Apple disregards a lower court's extensive factual findings and contradicts its own precedent regarding fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms for cellular patents, says Enrico Bonadio at the University of London.

  • What Businesses Need To Know About EU Design Law Reform

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    Recent reforms to European Union design protection law will broaden the scope of what constitutes protected designs and products, likely creating new opportunities and considerations for businesses operating within the EU or those engaging with its markets, say lawyers at Foley & Lardner.

  • What Latest VC Model Document Revisions Offer UK Investors

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    Recent updates to the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association model documents, reflecting prevailing U.K. market practice on early-stage equity financing terms and increasing focus on compliance issues, provide needed protection for investors in relation to the growth in global foreign direct investment regimes, say lawyers at Davis Polk.

  • Protecting Brand Identity In An AI-Driven Marketplace

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    A lawsuit recently filed in New York federal court marks a critical moment in the intersection of artificial intelligence and trademark law, underscoring the importance of — and challenges surrounding — IP owners' ability to protect their brands as AI-generated content continues to grow, says Wendy Heilbut at Heilbut LLC.

  • Opt-Out Strategy Considerations After Ruling In UPC Appeal

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    The Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court in AIM Sport Development v. Supponor recently clarified the circumstances under which a withdrawal of an opt-out from UPC jurisdiction is possible, bringing new strategic considerations for both patentees and potential defendants, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Opinion

    EU's AI Code Of Practice Creates Risk Of Regulatory Clashes

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    The second draft of the European Commission's Artificial Intelligence Code of Practice significantly expands beyond the European Union's existing legal framework for AI — especially around copyright protection, public transparency and reporting obligations — and risks interfering with other EU laws by introducing requirements contrary to existing regulations, say lawyers at MoFo.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Key Points From Gov't Consultation On Copyright And AI

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    The U.K. government’s current consultation on mitigating artificial intelligence input and output risks to copyright holders seeks to facilitate copyright holders in bringing actions against AI developers that make unauthorized use of protected works and mandate consistent labeling of AI-generated content, say lawyers at Deloitte.

  • What 2025 Holds For UK, EU Restructuring And Insolvency

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    European Union and U.K. restructuring developments in 2024, with a new era of director accountability, the use of cramdown tools and the emergence of aggressive liability management exercises, mean greater consideration of creditors' interests and earlier engagement in restructuring discussions can be expected this year, says Inga West at Ashurst.

  • What To Know As EU Urges Outbound Investment Reviews

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    A recent European Commission recommendation urges European Union member states to review outbound investments in certain critical technologies sectors, but does not clarify the next steps for states once information on relevant transactions in third countries is received, say lawyers at Cleary.

  • Exam Board Ruling Expands Scope Of 'Newcomer Injunctions'

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    The High Court's recent decision granting AQA Education a digital "newcomer injunction" prevents anonymous internet users from distributing unlawfully obtained exam materials, and extends the scope of such injunctions from issues of trespass to the protection of confidential information, say lawyers at Fieldfisher.

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