Case Reports

Copyright wars over Stormtrooper helmet

The judgment of the Supreme Court in Lucasfilm v Ainsworth [2011] UKSC 39, has both confirmed earlier judgments as to when a three-dimensional item may not be protected by copyright as a work of...

Have your say: design right protection - effective or not?

In May 2011, a review, entitled “Digital Opportunity: A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth” (commonly known as “The Hargreaves Review”), was commissioned by the Government to assess whether...

All in the Mind? UK High Court Endorses Narrow Criteria for Patentability Exclusion

A recent High Court judgement regarding Halliburton’s Patent Applications ([2011] EWHC 2508 (Pat)) signals a new development in the way the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) handles subject...

Bitter battle for the Yorkshire rose

In a recent High Court judgement involving Samuel Smith and Cropton breweries the Hon Mr Justice Arnold stressed on the importance of mediation for resolving disputes quickly and cost efficiently.

The Importance of Being Registered: The Effect of Non-Registration of an Exclusive Licence

A Court of Appeal judgment in Schutz v Werit has clarified the effect on claims for costs of failing to register an exclusive licence.This judgment is a continuation of an earlier judgment, reported...

Interpreting Swiss claims: Ranbaxy (UK) Limited and AstraZeneca AB

This case raised the question of the proper interpretation of a medical use (“Swiss”) claim, and confirmed that they will generally be interpreted in the same way as a “specific use” second medical...

You may take my company and my trademarks, but you cannot take my name

A recent judgement from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in case C-263/09P highlights the interplay between Community Trade Marks (CTM) and national rights.

Prior use rights and wrongs

One of the aspects arising from the judgment in Lundbeck v Infosint [2011] EWHC 907 (Pat) is the potentially narrow scope of prior use rights.

SPCs: When does a patent protect a product?

The law governing supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) is in theory harmonised within the EU. However, different interpretations have arisen with the result that there are presently nine...

Albert Packaging v Nampak Cartons: we didn’t copy your design, right?

The Patents County Court has handed down judgment ([2011 EWPCC 15) in a dispute between Albert Packaging Limited (“Albert”) and Nampak Cartons & Healthcare Limited (“Nampak”), regarding alleged...

Lundbeck v Infosint: The importance of registering assignments

A recent judgement in the Patents Court [2011] EWHC 907 (Pat) by the Hon Mr Justice Floyd has emphasised the importance of registering assignments and exclusive licences relating to European patents...

What’s in the Patent Box? An update

What is a 'Patent Box'? The Patent Box is a taxation scheme proposed for the UK. Under the Patent Box scheme companies will be able to apply a 10% rate of corporation tax for net profits arising from...

EPO and ITU cooperate to improve transparency in patents and ICT standards

The European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which creates Information and Communication Technology (ICT) standards, have announced that they have signed an...

Reconciling national measures for EU-wide CTM enforcement

This judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirms that when a national court acting as a Community Trade Mark Court imposes measures to ensure compliance with a judgment,...

Merck v Teva: Time to be obvious

A recent judgment made by the Chancellor of the UK High Court in a patent dispute has highlighted that the test for obviousness (i.e. inventive step) of the subject matter of a patent does not...