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China strengthens its trade mark law for brand owners
On 23 April 23, China published an amended Trade Mark Law which will come into effect on 1 November 2019. The revisions introduce intent to use requirements and increase the level of punitive damage and statutory damage to crack down on bad faith filings and strengthen trade mark protection
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Unsolicited Mail? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (but not technically illegal)
This is a short blog and word of warning in relation to unsolicited emails related to trade mark applications and registrations and the dangers and pitfalls surrounding this practice.
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Fantastic trade marks and where to find them
This month the CJEU hiked into the little-travelled hinterland of contemporary IP law on the trail of a particularly quirky and rarely-glimpsed creature – the position trade mark.
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A day at the races ends in tears
A dispute over horse racing data ended in tears last month for the defendants who were hit with a wide range of claims. Although the claims for copyright and database infringement failed, the defendants fell at the last hurdle when the breach of confidence claim turned against them.
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Claim to design of Wolves' logo kicked out of the High Court
A fan's claim to have designed, as a school boy in the early 1960s, the logo adopted by Wolverhampton Wanderers FC in 1979, has been dismissed by the High Court. In this blog we take a quick look at the reasons why.
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Validity of patent hosed down for being obvious
In the recent High Court case, Emson v Hozelock, Nugee J held that a patent for an expandable hose lacked inventiveness and was invalid. The judge's analysis of what amounts to a public disclosure and the inventor's use of prototypes in his garden is of particular interest.
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It’s a red card for filing football star’s name
Even if you are someone who does not completely understand the offside rule, it is more than likely that you are aware Brazilian footballer Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, more commonly known as "Neymar", has been a pretty big deal in the world of football. In this blog we look at his recent success off the pitch at the EUIPO...
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It's official! New Copyright Directive 2019/790....
The new Copyright Directive 2019/790 was published in the Official Journal on Friday 17 May 2019 and the implementation period will kick in 20 days from that date of publication i.e. 6 June 2019. That means that Member States will need to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 7 June 2021.
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Novel formulations are not new 'products' under the SPC Regulation, says the CJEU
The CJEU has recently ruled in the Abraxis Bioscience case that SPCs may not be granted for new formulations of old active ingredients.
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Advocate General considers tricky jurisdictional questions over trade mark infringement
In the case of AMS Neve v Heritage Audio, the Advocate General has handed down a much awaited opinion on various questions referred for a preliminary ruling by the Court of Appeal on the issue of jurisdiction to hear claims relating to EU trade marks.