The phrase “interesting recent decision” is sometimes overused, but in a notable decision, the EUIPO recently addressed a novel issue: whether retail services for virtual goods (specifically, "retail services in relation to...more
An AI system cannot be named as the inventor in a UK patent application – the inventor(s) must be human.
Technical developments created by AI cannot be ‘inventions’ within the meaning of UK patent legislation. UK patent...more
1/25/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Authorship ,
Biden Administration ,
European Commission ,
European Patent Office ,
Executive Orders ,
Inventors ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Ownership ,
Research and Development ,
UK Patent Act ,
UK Supreme Court ,
USPTO
The VIA Art Fund opposition and appeal decisions provide an important reminder for those seeking to enforce registered trade mark rights in the UK. While incorporating a figurative element to a descriptive mark can enhance...more
An English court has, for the first time, considered whether trained Artificial Neural Networks (“ANNs”) – a component of AI – could qualify for patent protection, or if they would fall under the computer program exclusion,...more
Digital artwork created by an AI system has once again been denied U.S. copyright registration. The ruling in Thaler v. Perlmutter granted summary judgment to the Copyright Office and Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights...more
EU institutions are aiming to reach an agreement on the final form AI Act through ongoing trilogue negotiations by the end of 2023.
The AI Act takes a risk-based approach and categorises AI systems into four risk levels:...more
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the most transformative technologies of the 21st Century. It is revolutionizing the way we create and protect intellectual property (IP), presenting both challenges and...more
7/7/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Enforcement ,
Infringement ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inventions ,
Machine Learning ,
Monetization ,
Patent Ownership ,
Prior Art ,
Research and Development ,
Shareholders ,
Social Media
A recent High Court case relating to a trade mark licensing and merchandising agreement offers a timely reminder of the principles a Court will consider when determining whether a term should be implied into a commercial...more
The Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has recently ruled that the private copying exception contained in the Information Society Directive (the “Directive”) applies to works stored in space made available to...more
Introduction - Employers whose new recruits bring with them potentially confidential information from their prior employment need to be mindful of the risks of claims from an individual’s previous employer, not just on the...more
Recent notable industry transactions. Royal Philips announced that it has agreed to acquire Capsule Technologies, Inc., a provider of medical device integration and data technologies for hospitals and healthcare...more
MHRA updates post-transition guidance Since 31 December 2020, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has been updating various aspects of the regulatory regime for medicines and medical devices...more
In what is likely to be the final judgment of an English Court as a Community Design Court, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (“IPEC”) has ruled that Austrian shoe manufacturer Giesswein infringed the registered...more
A thorny question which can arise on the termination of an individual’s employment relates to the individual’s ongoing duty of confidentiality to his or her former employer. A recent case brought by Trailfinders (a well-known...more
The fashion industry, and designers more generally, has received some welcome clarification of when clothing may attract protection under copyright law....more
In light of a possible no deal Brexit, businesses need to consider the impact such a scenario would have on their intellectual property rights, in particular trade marks, designs, patents and copyrights. For the majority of...more
10/10/2018
/ Community Designs ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Branding ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) ,
Fashion Branding ,
Grace Period ,
Graphic Designs ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Orphan Works ,
Patents ,
Supplementary Protection Certificate ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) ,
Unified Patent Court ,
WIPO
The European Commission has produced a draft withdrawal agreement (the “Agreement”) chartering the path of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. In the coming weeks, the Council of the European Union and the Brexit Steering Group...more
3/14/2018
/ Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
Commercial Use ,
Community Designs ,
Copyright ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) ,
Hague Convention ,
Industrial Design ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Madrid Protocol ,
Plant Patents ,
Priority Rules ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO)
The UK government triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017. However, there is still little clarity on the repercussions of Brexit for European Union trade marks (EUTMs), including the issue of non-use. ...more
The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court ruling of 2014 that Twentieth Century Fox’s (“Fox”) “glee” television series infringed Comic Enterprises Ltd’s (“Comic”) trade mark for “the glee CLUB”. A parallel claim in the High...more
3/16/2016
/ Appeals ,
Comics ,
Consumer Confusion ,
Damages ,
Injunctions ,
Passing Off ,
Television Shows ,
Trade Marks Act ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Twentieth Century Fox ,
UK
The English Court of Appeal recently overturned a High Court decision and found that Mattel’s SCRAMBLE Community trade mark is valid and had been infringed by Zynga’s use of SCRAMBLE and SCRAMBLE WITH FRIENDS as signs for...more
The High Court of Justice of England and Wales recently delivered its judgment in a case relating to the ownership of the copyright of the ‘halo’ logo (the “Dude Logo”) used on the well-known brand of ‘Innocent’ smoothies...more
On 19 June 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) delivered a judgment in the ongoing seven-year legal battle between Karen Millen Fashions and Dunnes Stores in Ireland.
Background -
This...more
Expansion of the domain name system -
ICANN (the organisation that coordinates internet domain names) is in the process of expanding the domain name system by introducing hundreds of new global Top Level Domains...more
Nominet, the company that manages the UK domain space, will shortly be introducing .uk domain names. This means that from 10 June 2014 shorter domain names such as will be available for the first time, alongside...more
The UK High Court handed down its judgment in the long running Google AdWords case, Interflora v Marks and Spencer on 21 May 2013. Mr Justice Arnold has found that Marks and Spencer's bidding on various INTERFLORA trade marks...more