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Feb 27, 20222 min read
How should an IP licence agreement be interpreted?
What happens when two parties cannot agree about the interpretation of an IP licence agreement? This question was recently examined by...
Feb 27, 20222 min read
What do you think of the UK designs system?
The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has launched a call for views on the designs system. It says this will “help us better...
Jan 29, 20222 min read
What's the risk of filing a takedown notice?
A legal action for unjustified threats is a serious risk that trade mark owners run when making allegations of infringement, including by...
Nov 20, 20212 min read
A Christmas miracle: Designs, confidential information and contracts
What connects Leonardo Da Vinci, a Christmas miracle and the possible award of exemplary damages? The answer lies in a recent High Court...
Nov 20, 20212 min read
When can Parts of a Ferrari be protected as Unregistered Designs?
When can component parts of a product be protected as unregistered Community designs (UCDs)? The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU)...
Nov 5, 20211 min read
The United Arab Emirates to join the Madrid System
Good news for international trade mark filing! On 28 September, 2021, the United Arab Emirates Government and WIPO announced that the UAE...
Nov 5, 20212 min read
'Green' trade marks on the rise
We’ve all become more conscious of climate change and other environmental issues over the past 25 years – and that can be seen in the...
Oct 4, 20212 min read
Unreasonable behaviour leads to IPEC costs award
In early 2021, Deputy High Court Judge David Stone (sitting in the IP Enterprise Court, IPEC) in a dispute over the use of the name...
Oct 4, 20212 min read
A rotten judgment for John Lydon
Who has the power to control the use of the Sex Pistols IP rights? That was essentially the question decided by Sir Anthony Mann in Jones...
Sep 2, 20211 min read
The post-Brexit clock is ticking - don't miss out!
We first wrote about the impact of Brexit on UK trade marks over a year ago. We are now over 6 months in since the UK's departure from...
Jul 22, 20212 min read
MILEY CYRUS gets name mark through in EU
A recent decision of the EU General Court looks like good news for celebrities. The singer Miley Cyrus had applied to register her name...
Jul 5, 20213 min read
Check before you threaten, warns HHJ Clarke
There’s rarely been a better example of the risks of launching litigation without careful consideration than the recent IPEC decision in...
Jul 3, 20212 min read
What happened to Colin the Caterpillar & what does it mean for your brand?
We take legal research very seriously - in order to fully understand the implications of the most tasty dispute of the year, Colin vs...
Jul 3, 20212 min read
A jewel by any other name... passing off in the jewellery world
Miss Recorder Amanda Michaels, sitting as a judge in the IPEC, has upheld a claim for passing off in a dispute between two jewellery...
May 8, 20212 min read
Assessing damages is never easy
A recent judgment from the IPEC provides a warning for anyone pursuing damages claims in IP cases. The process is time consuming, complex...
May 8, 20214 min read
Give this passing off case a butchers
Passing off is often added as an afterthought to a trade mark infringement action. In those circumstances, it is very often successful....
May 1, 20212 min read
Trade mark infringement claim upheld
The Court of Appeal has upheld a finding of trade mark infringement, but overturned a passing off finding, in a case concerning two UK...
May 1, 20212 min read
Database extraction was authorised
This was a complex dispute concerning a claims management database. It involved alleged infringement of a database right, misuse of...
May 1, 20213 min read
Which IP rights subsist in an XML Schema?
Disputes relating to software are often complex, with multiple parties and issues involved. However, they can also illuminate important...
Apr 21, 20212 min read
Satan Shoes - Nike and the devil tussle over trade mark exhaustion
Occasionally IP disputes break into the public domain. This one has to do with Nike, a famous brand, and also to do with Satan. Rosie and...
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