Case Reports

Cadbury loses another battle over its purple trade mark

In 2013, as part of the longstanding battle over Cadbury’s protection for the colour purple, the Court of Appeal (Société Des Produits Nestlé S.

Trunki appeal dismissed by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision that the Kiddee Case produced by PMS did not infringe Magmatic’s Registered Community Design for the Trunki suitcase, “the CRD”.

University’s dispute with inventor highlights importance of establishing ownership of IP

A recent decision at the UK Intellectual Property Office emphasises again how important it is to establish ownership of rights in inventions (particularly before the first patent application is...

Jaguar Land Rover fails in attempt to register trademark for shape of its cars

Jaguar Land Rover’s application to register an EU-wide trademark for the shape of one of their Land Rover cars has been rejected by the EU General Court.

Scammers posing as Intellectual Property Office fined £500,000

Scammers who deceived intellectual property owners by issuing fraudulent renewal letters and invoices have been fined the maximum £500,000 penalty by the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court...

HMRC opens consultation on proposed changes to Patent Box

A consultation has been announced by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) seeking the views of patent holders and interested parties on proposed changes to the UK Patent Box scheme.

EU Trade Mark Reform – Key Proposals and Implications

After years of debate, the European Parliament, European Council and European Commission have reached an agreement in relation to a new European Union trade mark reform package, which will provide a...

Alibaba case highlights importance of filing trademarks in China

Alibaba is the largest e-commerce platform in China, and one of the biggest in the world. Its co-founder, Jack Ma, is the richest man in China; he is often compared to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs by...

Remember: A UK patent application may not finally lapse for many years!

In a recent decision of the UK Intellectual Property Office, an applicant for a UK patent was allowed to file a response to an examination report (“office action”) more than 18 months after the due...

Reform of UK Provisions on Groundless Threats of Patent Infringement

In August 2013, I produced a short commentary regarding the decision of Mr Recorder Meade QC in SDL Hair Ltd v Next Row Ltd & Ors [2013] EWPCC 31, where Mr Meade was faced with the question of...

Abuse of Process – Patentee does not have to assert all known means of infringement

A decision from Mr Justice Birss inAdaptive Spectrum And Signal Alignment Inc v British Telecommunications Plc[2014] EWHC 4194 has introduced additional complications for parties found to infringe a...

Safeners can be active substances for purposes of supplementary protection certificates, says CJEU

C‑11/13 Bayer CropScience AG v Deutsches Patent- und MarkenamtThe Court of Justice of the European Union rules that a supplementary protection certificate (SPC) can be granted in respect of a safener.

Trademarks in sport

A strong brand, and trademark protection, create business value. Indeed, intellectual property can become a company’s most valuable asset. Branding in sport is big business.

Alice explained – US Supreme Court decision on computer-implemented inventions

The question presented in Alice was whether claims directed to a computer-implemented scheme for mitigating “settlement risk” are patent eligible under 35 U. S. C. §101.

YouView facing a re-brand after High Court ruling on trademark infringement

In the latest decision of a long-running battle over use of the trademark “youview”, the High Court issued a decision, this week, that may require the £100 million internet television service to...