IP, Industry and Case Law

The US Supreme Court’s decision in Limelight v Akamai apparently confirms that in the US, induced infringement of a patent can only occur if the patent has been directly infringed. Akamai Technologies Inc. was the exclusive licensee of a patent for a content delivery network (CDN) process. Limelight Networks Inc. was also operating a CDN. […]

1 October 2014 sees the introduction of a number of changes to design and copyright law as the Intellectual Property Act 2014 comes into force. The most noteworthy of these changes is the introduction of criminal sanctions for copying registered designs, to deter flagrant copying. Also of particular importance is the change to the provisions […]

In good news for the agrochemical industry, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that agrochemical safeners are eligible for Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs). Regulatory authorisation is required before certain products, such as pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, can be launched on the market. Authorisation can take several years, and so may significantly […]

Judgment was handed down on 15 May 2014 in the long running patent dispute between Actavis and Eli Lilly (Lilly) with respect to Lilly’s patent relating to the use of the anti-cancer drug pemetrexed disodium (Alimta®). Claim 1 defines a use of the drug with vitamin B12. In the first case of its kind, Actavis […]

Further to our earlier comment on Cadbury’s failed attempt to register as a trade mark its well-known colour purple, the UK Supreme Court has refused its request to appeal the decision. Unfortunately for Cadbury, the Court of Appeal found favour with Nestlé’s contention that its application was incapable of registration. To recap, Cadbury filed a […]

Lush is a well-known manufacturer and supplier of cosmetic products, primarily under the LUSH brand. Amazon, the world’s largest online shopping retailer, used Lush’s trade mark, LUSH, as a Google Adword and as a part of the search function on its UK website. Due to Amazon’s use of LUSH in keyword searches, customers were directed […]

In the latest judgment in the ongoing dispute between Virgin Atlantic Airways (Virgin) and Zodiac Seats UK Ltd (Zodiac), ([2013] EWCA Civ 1713) the Court of Appeal has ruled that the validity (or otherwise) of patents based on the process of examination and grant in the EPO is not open to challenge in the English […]

Following a long standing legal challenge, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has today sided with Karen Millen in a ruling which should offer greater protection for designers in future. The dispute between the high-end, high street retailer and the Irish department store, Dunnes, centres on the design of a black jumper […]

A recent decision of the UKIPO Hearing Office (see here) has added to the growing body of case law concerning which products are, and which are not, entitled to a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC). Those familiar with the pharmaceutical sector will be aware that SPCs provide an extension to the lifetime of patent monopolies for […]

The Intellectual Property Bill received royal assent on 15 May 2014, and will come into force as the Intellectual Property Act 2014. Many of the new measures are expected to take effect in October 2014, with the remainder entering into force by the end of 2015. Designs are a key focus for the new legislation. […]

The UK has a reputation for litigation to be extremely expensive, lengthy and complicated.  As a result, many companies have chosen to litigate their patents in Germany, where it is perceived that litigation is cheaper and quicker.  This article aims to demonstrate that patent litigation in the UK can be just as inexpensive as it […]

On 1 November 2013, the High Court of England and Wales issued its decision in the case of JW Spear & Sons Ltd & Mattel. Inc. v Zynga, Inc [2013] EWHC 3348 (Ch). The High Court decided that Zynga’s online game, SCRAMBLE WITH FRIENDS, does not infringe Mattel’s rights in its famous SCRABBLE mark, except […]

This case concerned Apotex’s generic version of Sanofi-Aventis’ leflunomide drug, ARAVA®. Sanofi-Aventis obtained a patent which claims: “A method of preventing or treating a skin disorder, wherein the skin disorder is psoriasis, which comprises administering to a recipient an effective amount of [leflunomide]”. Leflunomide is used in Australia to treat psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, […]

In the recent case of IPCom GmbH & Co Ltd v HTC Europe Ltd and others [2013] EWCA Civ 1496, the Court of Appeal upheld a decision to refuse a request to stay proceedings in light of pending opposition proceedings before the EPO. The length of time typical opposition proceedings may remain pending was thought […]

On 28th February 2014, Magmatic, the company behind the Trunki ride-on suitcase which was made famous by the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, suffered a major setback when the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in Magmatic Ltd v PMS International Ltd . The Court of Appeal reversed the first instance decision of Arnold J, finding […]

A recent far-reaching decision of a Technical Board of Appeal of the EPO (T2003/08) reviewed: (i) whether means for achieving a therapeutic effect can be protected by a Swiss-style second medical use claim; (ii) whether witnesses should be heard if they attend a hearing having not first confirmed receipt of a summons from the EPO; […]

In 2012, we commented on the impact of the decision of the General Court in Environmental Manufacturing LLP v OHIM & Société Elmar Wolf . This decision was subsequently appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”), which made its decision on the merits of the appeal on 14 November 2013 (Case […]

Withers & Rogers LLP is once again sponsoring the annual Nordic IPR Forum. The event will run from 25 to 27 March and will be held at The Brewery Conference Centre in Stockholm, Sweden. Now in its 11th year, the Nordic IPR Forum is the longest running intellectual property rights event in Scandinavia and aims […]

Withers & Rogers LLP is once again sponsoring the annual Nordic IPR Forum. The event will run from 25 to 27 March and will be held at The Brewery Conference Centre in Stockholm, Sweden. Now in its 11th year, the Nordic IPR Forum is the longest running intellectual property rights event in Scandinavia and aims […]

The US Supreme Court recently announced that it will consider the case of Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International in what is hoped to be a landmark case which would provide a definitive answer to whether or not an abstract idea or business method is patentable in the US. In 2010 the Supreme Court in […]

The contribution made by IP-led industries to the European economy has been quantified for the first time in a report published by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM). The report has revealed that industries described as ‘IPR-intensive’ – those that file a high number of Community […]