Case Reports

No declaration of non-infringement for Oh Polly no matter the colour

Two form of order hearings have taken place in Original Beauty v G4K. In the first one, the Judge heard the Defendants’ request for a declaration of non-infringement and at the second the Judge...

Decision in seed drill patent infringement IPEC hearing

BackgroundClaydon Yield-O-Meter Limited (‘Claydon') and Mzuri Ltd (‘Mzuri') both manufacture and sell agricultural equipment, including seed drills.

Eminem’s First Record Label Fails to Stand Up and Succeed Fully in Damages Claim

Last week, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court ("IPEC") heard the trial of quantum in the claim between F.B.T. Productions, LLC ("FBT") and Let Them Eat Vinyl Distribution Limited ("LTEV") for...

UK Court of Appeal hands down judgment in trade mark disputes between Gymnastics associations

UK Gymnastics Ltd & Ors v British Amateur Gymnastics Association [2021] EWCA Civ 425 (24 March 2021)The Court of Appeal recently gave its judgment in a trade mark and passing off dispute between...

Original Beauty’s originality not passed off by Oh Polly

In Original Beauty v G4K, the High Court takes a closer look at when using someone else’s garment when designing your own stops being a source of inspiration and becomes an act of outright copying.

Rare EPO decision regarding biological deposits and biological material used in an invention being "available to the public"

In decision T1045/16, EPO Technical Board of Appeal considered whether a patent relating to virus-resistant melons met the requirements of Article 83 EPC.

UK High Court rules that an argument for equivalents needs more than just a “Like” in Facebook v Voxer

At a pre-trial review (“PTR”), heard on 19 March 2021, Lord Justice Birss, sitting down from the Court of Appeal, had to decide whether an infringement case based on the doctrine of equivalents which...

Protecting Artificial Intelligence Inventions in the UK

Last year, the UK IPO called for views on the relationship between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the intellectual property (IP) system. On 23 March 2021, the UK IPO published their response to the...

EPO Revocation helps Mylan sleep Neurim’s win from right under them

In the latest bout between Neurim v Mylan in this pharmaceutical patent case concerning the treatment of insomnia and what looks to be Round 5 in the court room, on 12 March 2021, the English Patents...

Reality check for patenting computer-implemented simulations at the EPO

In its decision G1/19 (Simulations), the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO has confirmed that it is business as usual when assessing the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, even when...

UK Patent Box scheme set to become an even more valuable tax benefit

The UK Patent Box scheme is set to become an even more valuable tax benefit in the near future. With Chancellor Rishi Sunak's announcement of higher corporate tax rates from 2023, larger and more...

Ocado permitted to make committal application against solicitor for contempt of court

Ocado Group PLC & Anr v Raymond John McKeeve [2021] EWCA Civ 145Court of Appeal overturns first instance judge and allows application to commit solicitor for contempt of courtThis is an appeal...

Court of Appeal adopts narrow interpretation of Crown use defence in IPCom v Vodafone

IPCom GmbH v Vodafone Group plc & Ors [2021] EWCA Civ 205This case involves a dispute between IPCom, an intellectual property licensing company, and Vodafone, the well-known telecommunications...

HHJ Hacon decides ownership of Virtual Forensic Computing software created during course of employment.

Penhallurick v MD5 Limited [2021] EWHC 93 (IPEC) 15 February 2021This case demonstrates the importance of understanding how work undertaken for an employer shapes copyright ownership and, ironically,...

EIP Trademark team recognised by WTR 1000 2021

EIP has been highlighted as one of the world’s leading trademark specialists in the 2021 edition of WTR 1000.Researchers for WTR 1000, published annually by World Trademark Review, references EIP’s...