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Intellectual Property UK

  • April 03, 2025

    Unilever Wins Patent Battle With P&G Over Laundry Detergent

    Appellate officials at a European patent authority have tossed a challenge by Procter & Gamble against Unilever's patent for a type of laundry detergent, finding that the patent covers a unique formula for stabilizing the product and reducing discoloration.

  • April 02, 2025

    Nokia Sues Acer, Asus, Hisense For Patent Infringement

    Nokia is suing Acer, Asus and Hisense for patent infringement in Europe, kicking off a fresh round of litigation over its video coding tech on the back of its license agreement with Amazon.

  • April 02, 2025

    UPC Won't Assess Patents That Lapsed Before 2023

    The Unified Patent Court said Wednesday that it cannot assess infringement of national parts of European patents that lapsed before the court opened its doors in June 2023, ruling that jurisdiction over such disputes lies with national courts.

  • April 02, 2025

    Royal Mail Database IP Claim Gets Off To Rocky Start

    Royal Mail Group and the operator of an address search website argued Wednesday that software firm Codeberry Ltd. copied millions of addresses from the courier's postcode data without permission, as the High Court case opened without counsel for defendants.

  • April 02, 2025

    Safestand Wins Appeal To Protect Scaffolding Design

    An appellate judge on Wednesday reinstated a scaffolding manufacturer's three registered designs for builders' trestles, ruling that its many components all formed a single product rather than several alternative goods.

  • April 02, 2025

    Microsoft Sued In Germany Over Video Coding Patents

    Three licensors in Via LA's patent pool have sued Microsoft in Germany for allegedly infringing their essential video-coding patents through its sales of Windows and Xbox products, their lawyer said Wednesday.

  • April 02, 2025

    Toy Seller Denies Copying Rival's 'Paw Bear' IP

    A toy seller has fought back against claims that it copied a teddy bear design to steal customers, arguing that its rival was not the first company to give the stuffed animals a neck bow and rough patches.

  • April 02, 2025

    Paddington Bear Owner Sues Souvenir Seller Over Copyright

    The owner of Paddington Bear has hit a souvenir wholesaler with a copyright infringement claim in a London court, accusing it of using copies of the iconic bear on products without its permission.

  • April 01, 2025

    AstraZeneca Keeps Generics Off Shelves Ahead Of Appeal

    Counsel for AstraZeneca convinced the Court of Appeal on Monday to review a decision to let rival Glenmark release its generic version of a billion-dollar diabetes treatment under an agreement that the company can ship supplies of the drug already packed in trucks as long as it doesn't move ahead with retail sales in the meantime.

  • April 01, 2025

    BAT Unit Can't Nix Philip Morris E-Cig Patent On Appeal

    Philip Morris has retained its patent for a method of heating electronic cigarettes, with European officials tossing a challenge from a British American Tobacco unit after finding that Philip Morris' amended claims made the invention new.

  • April 01, 2025

    Pfizer, Merck Lose Appeal To Patent Cancer Drug Dosage 

    European officials have rejected Pfizer and Merck's second bid to patent a specific cancer drug dosage, ruling that the pharmaceutical giants didn't provide any new justification to protect the treatment they developed together. 

  • April 01, 2025

    Nestlé's Smarties Brand Beats Low-Sugar 'Smart Sweets' TM

    Nestlé has beaten a Canadian low-sugar candy maker's bid for a "Smart Sweets" trademark after European officials were persuaded that confectionery lovers were likely to confuse the brand with the multicolored chocolate Smarties.

  • April 01, 2025

    Fire Alarm Patent Not New, Electrical Supplier Argues

    An electrical equipment supplier has told a London court that a rival fire alarm manufacturer's patent for fire and carbon monoxide alarm systems is not viable because the supplier's competitor sold similar alarm systems before the patent was filed.

  • April 01, 2025

    Hydrogen Tech Biz Must Hand IP To Inventor In Dutch Row

    An inventor has persuaded a court in the Netherlands to order an energy company to hand over a group of applications for patents to extract hydrogen from water after concluding that he is the rightful owner.

  • April 01, 2025

    Candey Denies Mishandling Client's Funds In Libel Dispute

    Disputes firm Candey Ltd. has denied a claim by a former client that it mishandled her money following a settlement in a trademark dispute, while pressing home its allegation that her one-star Google review of its performance was defamatory.

  • March 31, 2025

    Novartis, Genentech Lose Asthma Drug Patent In Netherlands

    Celltrion Inc. has persuaded a Dutch court to revoke Novartis and Genentech's patent in the Netherlands for asthma drug omalizumab, straying from a London judge's recent decision to uphold the U.K. part of the patent.

  • March 31, 2025

    Boult Wade Atty Named Chief Of IP Group's UK Arm

    A European intellectual property union has named a Boult Wade Tennant LLP partner as the new president of its British group.

  • March 31, 2025

    Adidas Refused Broader Protection For Sports Shoe Patent

    European patent officials have rejected a bid by Adidas AG for a broader version of a patent for one of its sports shoe designs but disagreed with a Swiss competitor that the patent should be scrapped entirely.

  • March 31, 2025

    Session Musicians Need Streaming Revenue Fix, Union Says

    The Musicians' Union has pushed the government to give session musicians a share of streaming royalties, noting that a recent increase in upfront studio fees wasn't enough to balance the scales given the streaming industry's gains.

  • March 31, 2025

    LVMH Units Win Glenmorangie, Belvedere Counterfeits Claim

    Two LVMH-owned companies behind Scotch whisky brand Glenmorangie and Polish vodka Belvedere have convinced a court in the Netherlands that a Chinese company infringed their trademarks by importing and storing thousands of counterfeit bottles.

  • March 31, 2025

    Nokia, Amazon End Long-Running Patent Feud With License

    Nokia said Monday that it has inked a patent agreement with Amazon to cover its video technology, marking the end of litigation between the two companies across several continents.

  • March 28, 2025

    Patent Court Likely To Lure Patent Holders With UK IP In Play

    The Unified Patent Court has now doubled down on its authority to hear claims involving U.K. patents, a move that is likely to make the court an even more desirable forum for global infringement actions.

  • March 28, 2025

    VistaJet Escapes VC Fund's Claim Over Investment Deal

    A private jet company owner escaped allegations from a Guernsey venture capital fund that he secretly set up companies to leverage the resources of a business it had invested in, when a London court ruled Friday that the claim came too late.

  • March 28, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen sparkling winemaker Nyetimber hit a rival distillery with an intellectual property claim, Newcastle United's former owner Mike Ashley target the club's ex-vice president for damages tied to a fraudulent investment, and a real estate agency file a legal claim against law firm Winston & Strawn LLP. Here, ¼«ËÙÈü³µ looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 28, 2025

    CureVac RNA Vax Patent Survives BioNTech's EU Challenge

    CureVac SE has fended off a challenge from BioNTech SE of its mRNA therapy patent at a European patent authority, paving the way for CureVac to forge ahead with litigation in the companies' home country of Germany accusing BioNTech of infringing its invention.

Expert Analysis

  • ITC Dispute May Lead To PTAB Litigation Strategy Shifts

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    A pending motion to stay the dispute between AutoStore and Ocado at the U.S. International Trade Commission highlights competing timelines of the ITC and Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and has the potential to reshape the typical forum selection strategies for patentees and defense tactics for challengers, say attorneys at Reichman Jorgensen.

  • Opinion

    US Courts Should Adjudicate FRAND Rates On A Global Basis

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    Following the U.K. Supreme Court's recent Unwired Planet v. Huawei decision, U.S. courts should analyze compliance with contracts on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms by assessing them on a worldwide basis, because global licenses are the only technically and financially sound way to license standard-essential patents, say attorneys at McKool Smith.

  • UK Top Court Ruling May Be Problematic For Global SEP Suits

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    There are several reasons to question the wisdom of the U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling that English judges have the power to set extraterritorial licensing royalty rates for standard-essential patents, including that it encourages forum shopping, says Thomas Cotter at the University of Minnesota Law School.

  • UK Ruling Shows Global SEP Enforcement Dilemma

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    The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling that U.K. judges have the power to set extraterritorial licensing royalty rates for standard-essential patents highlights a problem with global patent enforcement coordination and efficiency that could potentially be solved through the Patent Cooperation Treaty, says Roya Ghafele at Oxfirst.

  • Time To Reassess Your Patent Cooperation Treaty Strategy

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    In light of the trends outlined in the World Intellectual Property Organization's recent annual Patent Cooperation Treaty review, applicants should make decisions on which international search authority to use based on immediate cost, total cost and quality, says Karam Saab at Kilpatrick.

  • German FRAND Decision May Shape Global SEP Landscape

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    The German high court's recent decision that patent owner Sisvel didn't breach its fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory patent licensing obligations by refusing to grant Haier a license represents a shift in the standard-essential patent landscape in favor of SEP holders' enforcement freedom, say Erik Puknys and Michelle Rice at Finnegan.

  • Sustainable Food Progress May Close Global Regulatory Gap

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    As the need for sustainable food production grows, the European sector will likely align with less stringent U.S. regulatory standards, which will further enable U.S. companies to expand globally and lead to more sophisticated intellectual property strategies in all regions, say Jane Hollywood and Fiona Carter at CMS Legal.

  • Cos. Should Assess IP, Contractual Protections For Their AI

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    Companies should understand the three types of intellectual property protection for safeguarding proprietary artificial intelligence — which is crucial to fighting the pandemic — as well as tools for creating protections when statutory means fall short, say Lori Bennett at Aetion and attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Tips For Accelerating Patent Prosecution In China

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    In light of recent Chinese patent statistics showing at least eight to 10 months to first office action and an average of 22.7 months to final disposition from the date of filing, there are several strategies applicants may explore to speed through examination, say Aaron Wininger at Schwegman Lundberg and Lei Tan at Pujing Chemical.

  • Use Of AI To Treat COVID-19 Shows Novel Inventorship Issues

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    As technology and medical companies collaborate to deploy artificial intelligence to combat COVID-19, questions arise about how best to protect AI innovations as well as who should get credit as an inventor, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

  • Israel's Generic COVID-19 Drug Licensing Lacks Due Process

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    The Israel attorney general's special compulsory license for imported generic versions of Abbvie's patented antiviral drug Kaletra to treat COVID-19 does not provide a right of response, a hearing or direct judicial review, says Ephraim Heiliczer at Pearl Cohen.

  • New US Policy On SEP Remedies Restores Critical Balance

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    The new joint U.S. Department of Justice-U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policy on standard-essential patents, clarifying that injunctions are available in accordance with general remedies law, helps restore a power balance between technology innovators and users, and realigns U.S. patent law with other jurisdictions, say attorneys at McKool Smith.

  • Vaccine IP Under Microscope With Coronavirus Outbreak

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    The coronavirus global outbreak, which has focused attention on the role patent systems play in encouraging investment in vaccines and cures, affords an opportunity to examine the tension among patent rights, investments, governments and public health, say Gaby Longsworth and Robert Greene Sterne at Sterne Kessler.

  • EU Lacks Effective Tool For Resolving Border Disputes

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    The European Court of Justice recently found that it did not have jurisdiction over Slovenia's claim to enforce an arbitration award against Croatia, indicating that EU legal framework cannot be used to resolve intra-EU border disputes, and that a new mechanism should possibly be developed, says Akshay Sewlikar at Linklaters.

  • Rebuttal

    AI Can't Accurately Predict Case Length And Cost — Yet

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    A recent ¼«ËÙÈü³µ guest article argued that artificial intelligence can precisely estimate the length and cost of a new case, but several limitations will likely delay truly accurate predictions for years to come, says Andrew Russell at Shaw Keller.

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