SQUADRA Proves a Little (Evidence) Can go a Long way

Posted on 13 March 2013

This case concerns the extent to which a low level of evidence can be challenged as not being sufficient to establish genuine use, following an application for revocation of a registration on the grounds of non-use.

IP Cases & Articles

Design Invalidity: Gardeco Limited v La Hacienda

Posted on 13 March 2013

Gardeco Limited obtained a Registered Design in the UK for “a conical steel chimenea with stainless steel rim around the mouth” .La Hacienda Limited sought to invalidate this Registered Design under section 1B(1) of the Registered Designs Act 1949, which relates to the requirement that designs must be new and…

IP Cases & Articles

Chianti Fails to Stop French Rugby��s Rooster Mascot

Posted on 13 March 2013

Consorzio vino Chianti Classico (Chianti), the body responsible for promoting and protecting the Chianti Classico denomination, with their long established black rooster logo, has failed to stop Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) from registering a Community trade mark (CTM) which predominantly consists of a rooster design.

IP Cases & Articles

Best Buy Fails to Prove Distinctiveness Through Use

Posted on 13 March 2013

Best Buy applied to register its trade marks BEST BUY and BEST BUY (Device, as shown below) in the UK. The applications were made for various services but this case specifically involves their interest in retail services (class 35).

IP Cases & Articles

UK to Broaden Clinical Trial Exemption to Infringement

Posted on 01 March 2013

The UK Government has just announced a proposal to change UK patent law to exempt clinical trials of innovative drugs, for both regulatory approval and health technology assessments, from patent infringement. This is welcome news for the pharmaceutical industry as it finally clarifies the scope of this exemption, and the…

IP Cases & Articles

Patenting for the Cloud - Challenges and Solutions

Posted on 28 February 2013

In this article we look at the challenges in securing IP that arises from the distributed nature of cloud computing technology. Specifically, we look at the situation where there is clear potential to fragment a cloud-based invention into stages which can be shared between servers that are in different countries…

Doug Ealey

Partner, Patent Attorney

IP Cases & Articles

Pharmaceutical Patenting

Posted on 15 February 2013

As the regulatory requirements to obtain marketing authorization of medicines become more stringent, the research required becomes ever longer and more costly; it can typically take 12-14 years and cost up to $1bn to bring a new drug from its initial discovery to the market. Patent protection is therefore critical…

IP Cases & Articles

Software rights - to share or to keep control?

Posted on 08 February 2013

In the United Kingdom, and in most countries, both the source code and object code of a computer program are automatically protected by copyright.

Alan Boyd

Partner, Patent Attorney

IP Cases & Articles

The Unitary Patent �� A Connected Europe?

Posted on 08 February 2013

Update 25 February 2013: On 19th February the Unified Patent Court Agreement was formally signed by the 24 participating Member States. This is a formal stage in the process towards the creation and implementation of the Unified (or Unitary) Patent system, although there are still a number of important details…

IP Cases & Articles