Insights

Articles Mar292023

Lessons to be learnt from Dragons’ Den: a practical guide for brand owners

Like many, I am a big fan of Dragons’ Den. I love discovering new brands and that – matched with some entertainment from the Dragons – makes for an enjoyable Thursday evening. But there are a number of common issues that I come across each episode which suggest that brand owners may benefit from some practical tips.

Articles Mar272023

G2/21 Plausibility – The Decision

The Enlarged Board of Appeal have decided that post-published evidence can be used to prove a technical effect for the assessment of inventive step if the technical effect is “encompassed by the technical teaching” of the application at the original filing date.

Articles Mar032023

2020 spike in biodegradable plastics innovation ends two decades of decline in patent applications

Appleyard Lees’ ‘Inside Green Innovation: Progress Report 2022’ revealed a significant increase in patent filings related to biodegradable plastics in recent years.

Articles Feb242023

Are fanciful logos no longer in fashion?

Associate and trade mark attorney Hannah Burrows discusses how major luxury fashion labels appear to have moved from fanciful logos, with significant stylisation being stripped back in favour of simpler fonts.

Articles Feb222023

When does your business law client need a specialist IP lawyer?

Business lawyers are expected to advise their clients on a wide range of regulatory, statutory and international legal issues.

Articles Feb172023

Don’t delay filing your UK divisional patent applications

In this article, partner and patent attorney Parminder Lally, provides a summary of the new practice regarding: Don’t delay filing your UK divisional that will come into effect on 1 May 2023.

Articles Feb102023

Delaying grant of a European Patent to obtain a Unitary Patent and filing an early request for a Unitary Patent

With 1 June 2023 being the start date of the Unitary Patent system, applicants achieving allowance of their European patent applications in the coming months may wish to delay grant so as to obtain a Unitary Patent (UP).

Articles Feb102023

NFTs, blockchain and IP – part 3: a summary of recent key NFT disputes

In part three of this series, we look at recent legal disputes involving NFTs (ongoing and settled), that present new, unique intellectual property issues.

Articles Feb072023

T 0702/20: patentability of a sparsely connected neural network

Senior associate and patent attorney Paul Roscoe discusses T 0702/20, and the implications it could have on AI patent applications at the EPO.

Articles Jan192023

When life gives you lemons: Brothers Drinks Co. Ltd v Thatchers Cider Company Limited (CLOUDY LEMON)

Partner and trade mark attorney Robert Cumming, and trainee trade mark attorney Claire Bothma, discuss if a a mark, which is descriptive for goods, also descriptive for the retail of those goods.

Articles Jan182023

PicArt Print & Design v. Daniel Platten, UKIPO decision O/487/22

Design disputes tend to focus on the comparison between the design as registered and the prior art. The case PicArt Print & Design v. Daniel Platten is no exception.