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Tears of joy or tears of sorrow? European Parliament approves biggest overhaul in copyright law for 20 years
On Tuesday 26 March 2019, news broke that the new Copyright Directive in the Digital Single Market had been voted through the EU Parliament. The Directive, which has been the subject of the most intensive lobbying ever experienced in relation to new legislation, passed through the EU Parliament with 348 votes in favour, 274 votes against and 24 abstentions.
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Gasp - Mylan ordered to provide sample inhaler
It is generally well known that the saisie-contrefaçon procedures in France and Belgium provide an easy route by which patentees can obtain samples of products thought to be infringing before commencing formal proceedings and the information thereby obtained can usually be used in proceedings in other jurisdictions. Similar, albeit more restrictive, procedures are available in the English courts, as illustrated by the recent decision in Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG v Generics (UK) Ltd T/A Mylan and another [2019] EWHC 584 (Ch).
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School Taught a Lesson on Communicating Copyright Works
In the recent case of Land Nordrhein-Westfalen v Renckhoff (C-161/17), the CJEU handed down one of its last judgments before breaking for summer, on copyright infringement. The Court held that posting a photograph on a website amounted to a communication to the public. This was the case even where the photograph had been previously published on another website with the consent of the copyright owner.
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Boomtown Rats keyboardist leaves pre-trial hearing on a high note
Mr Justice Carr recently handed down his decision (14 March 2018) from an interim pre-trial hearing in the Moylett v Geldof case in relation to the admissibility of part of an expert report. Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof is being sued by the band's former keyboardist, John Moylett (AKA Johnnie Fingers), who claims that he wrote crucial parts of the music and lyrics for their 1979 hit 'I Don't Like Mondays'.
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A cupful of confusion: how similar do trade marks need to be?
The General Court has overturned both the Opposition Division and the Board of Appeal and sided with Starbucks, holding that the coffee company's logo is confusingly similar to a "COFFEE ROCKS" roundel mark.
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Not an EASY decision for the High Court…
Last month, the High Court dismissed a claim by W3 Ltd ("W3") in respect of threats of trade mark infringement against easyGroup Ltd ("easyGroup") for use of the mark "EasyRoommate". EasyGroup's counterclaim for passing off and infringement of various "EASY" marks was also dismissed and their registered word mark "EASY" was held to be invalid in relation to all of the services it was registered for.
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How average is the average consumer? A case comment on Floyd LJ's findings in the recent Court of Appeal judgment in The London Taxi Cab Case - Part II
A follow up discussion on the recent Court of Appeal judgment in The London Taxi Corporation Ltd (t/a the London Taxi Company) v Frazer-Nash Research Ltd & Anor [2017] EWCA Civ 1729: Part II – average consumer
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Food for thought - kitchen design case considers new law and Shorter Trial Scheme
In the case of Neptune v Devol Kitchens, the Court has considered the scope of the amendment to section 213 of the Copyright Design and Patents Act ("CDPA") to remove the words "any aspect of" from the definition of an unregistered design which came into effect on 1 October 2014 (implemented by the Intellectual Property Act 2014).
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BMW heads in the right direction after its journey to the Court of Appeal
The issue of how unauthorised dealers may make use of trade marks in relation to genuine spare parts and repair services has often sat uncomfortably in the context of trade mark infringement. Following the Court of Appeal's recent decision in BMW v Technosport, there is now clarification as to when a brand owner may object to use of their marks which goes further than merely describing the services offered and implies an association with the brand owner.
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The next chapter: Eli Lilly v Actavis in the Supreme Court
Eli Lilly and Actavis have been battling over the patent on Lilly's Alimta product since 2012. Fieldfisher went to the UK Supreme Court from 4 - 6 April 2017 to hear the latest round of the proceedings.