Insights

Articles May172024

Don’t miss out on the EPO’s new fee reductions for micro entities

Getting a patent granted for your innovation can be a costly process. There are, of course, fees associated with the work your patent attorneys do to advise you, to prepare your patent application, and to work with the Patent Office to obtain a granted patent for you.

Articles May162024

Biological deposits for patents, the Five “W”s: Why, What, Where, When and Who?

Rachel Mercer discusses how biological deposits can be used to fulfil the requirements of a sufficient disclosure for patent applications involving biological material.

Articles May032024

Deepfakes, Intellectual Property law and Tom Hanks’ apparent dental plan

Consider this hypothetical scenario: You are a famous actor, you’ve played the role of a merchant mariner taken hostage by pirates, a pilot and a character who likes to run and whose mama told them life was like a box of chocolates. One day, you wake up to see a hyper-realistic video of yourself on the internet advertising a dental plan that you’re unaware of.

Articles Apr092024

How can brands avoid a dogfight when using comparative advertising?

There is a fine line between fair competition and trade mark infringement - in this article, one IP expert breaks down the differences and how they applied in a relevant 2024 case.

Articles Apr022024

Glossary of patent terms – part 3 of 3

In this three-part glossary, we lead you through some of the key terminology you may come across when you’re going through the patent process.

Articles Mar252024

T 1473/19 – claim interpretation, added matter, and the importance of a comma

In a recent decision from the European Patent Office (EPO), T 1473/19, the Board of Appeal revoked a patent for added subject matter, due to its interpretation that claim 1 lacked basis in the description of the application as filed. Senior associate and patent attorney Sarah Gibbs, and patent attorney Amelia Barton, explain how this case highlights the importance of precise claim drafting, and the potential pitfalls when there are discrepancies between the claims and the description of the invention.

Articles Mar192024

Lidl v Tesco – when is a trade mark a legal weapon?

In the latest instalment of the clash between supermarket giants Lidl and Tesco, the English Court of Appeal provided valuable clarification on key issues of consumer perception, evidential thresholds, and bad faith registration — all of which have wide-ranging implications for brand owners and marketing practices in the retail sector.

Articles Mar182024

UK Supreme Court rejects Amazon’s appeal in cross-border issue on targeting

On 6 March 2024, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Amazon’s appeal in a dispute against Lifestyle Equities (Lifestyle) relating to the advertisement and offers for sale of Lifestyle’s “BEVERLY HILLS POLO CLUB” trade marks from amazon.com (Amazon’s US website).

Articles Mar062024

IP audits – what are the benefits?

Intellectual Property (IP) is an important asset of any business; it provides security over the business’ innovation and branding and can be essential when looking to attract funding and investment. However, identifying the IP rights which are relevant to your business can be a challenging task.

Articles Feb262024

Innovation activity in bioplastics and chemical recycling technology continues apace

Innovation in biopolymers (bioplastics) and plastics recycling has hit an all-time high, according to the latest-available patent data.

Articles Feb222024

Key trends in cell and gene therapy

The Bioindustry Association (BIA) recently published its latest report on the cell and gene therapy sector in the UK, which is a thriving environment for research and development. In this article, trainee patent attorney Chloe Johnson, and patent attorney and associate Claire Devine, provide an update on key trends in this area, and discuss considerations for an effective IP strategy.