This episode of the podcast features Bill Lister and Chris Thomas, specialist IP solicitors who help clients in the UK and around the world manage IP disputes in a commercially and legally sensible way. Chris and Bill discuss how to prevent disputes, and what to do if they arise.
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Inventions can be broadly split into products (i.e. physical entities) and methods (i.e. activities). This brief guide aims to clarify exactly which diagnostic products and methods can and cannot currently be patented in Europe.
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In a recent decision, the UK Intellectual Property Office found in favour of Cambridge University and upheld an opposition against a trade mark application for CAMBRIDGE BLUE.
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The Brexit transition period came to an end on 31 December 2020 and as of 1 January 2021 the UK was no longer bound by EU legal framework. Before the UK left the EU, the UK was party to the EU’s regional exhaustion of IP rights regime.
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The received wisdom is that company directors can escape liability by sheltering behind the “corporate veil”. But is this true in IP cases?
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It is possible to patent computer-implemented inventions at the European Patent Office (EPO). In particular, it is possible to patent computer-implemented inventions (CIIs) which function in the real-world.
Read more Updated Examination Guidelines published by the EPO in March 2021 include stricter requirements for making a patent description consistent with amended claims. We discuss the knock-on effect this new approach may have in subsequent patent disputes.
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Indian patent law requires all patentees to file an annual Statement of Working, by means of a Form 27. This Statement sets out the extent to which the patented invention has been worked (or not) on a commercial scale in India.
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Appleyard Lees acted for the operator of an ecommerce website which successfully defended a High Court claim for trade mark infringement brought by its international suppliers, in one of the first trials held in the Intellectual Property & Enterprise Court remotely during the Coronavirus pandemic. The client recovered its legal costs in full up to the IPEC costs cap.
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In one of the last IP rulings before Brexit, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (the IPEC) recently handed down its judgment in Rothy’s Inc v Giesswein Walkwaren AG [2020] EWHC 3391 (IPEC) finding that Rothy’s Inc’s (the claimant) Registered Community Design (RCD) in relation to a shoe depicting a Pointed Loafer was valid and infringed by Giesswein Walkwaren AG (the defendant).
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The revised Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA 2020) came into force on 1 January 2020. One of the revised rules covered ‘remittal’ – the practice of a Board of Appeal sending the case back to the department of first instance (the Opposition Division for oppositions) to continue examination.
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