• AIPPI UK Event Report: Roundup of 2023’s Patent Cases

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/04/aippi-uk-event-report-roundup-of-2023s.html December, January, February  – wake the IPKat up in March Back in December – when it was colder and darker – London’s patent practitioners attended AIPPI UK’s annual patent round-up event hosted by Hogan Lovells. Andrew Lykiardopoulos KC and Henry Edwards of 8 New Square presented the highlights of the 2023 patent... Continue reading

     
  • Can a geometric sign on eyewear be distinctive? No, says EUIPO

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/04/can-geometric-sign-on-eyewear-be.html   By decision of 19 February 2024 (R 514/2023), the Board of Appeal (BoA) of EUIPO confirmed the initial refusal to register a position trade mark for eyewear, consisting of a geometrical sign (an irregular polygon used as a rivet for fastening the hinges of eyeglasses). It is worth... Continue reading

     
  • GuestPost: Do certain panel compositions of the UPC Court of Appeal breach article 6 ECHR?

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/04/guestpost-does-judicial-composition-of.html The UPC Court of Appeal in Luxembourg Amidst the humblebrags and #blessed postings, LinkedIn these days is also full of posts on stats from the Unified Patent Court (UPC).  As Merpel was wading through the usual analysis, she stumbled across a novel topic in a post from her Parisian... Continue reading

     
  • Veuve Clicquot colour trade mark about to be cancelled?

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/04/veuve-clicquot-colour-trade-mark-about.html Trade marks that lack inherent distinctiveness and were only registered on the basis of acquired distinctiveness must be enforced rigorously in order to prevent them from losing their ability to indicate the commercial origin. This is particularly true for abstract colour trade marks. Enforcement usually invites counterattacks on the... Continue reading

     
  • Inventive step of treating a subpopulation of patients in view of prior art reporting a positive phase 3 clinical trial (T 1437/21)

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/03/inventive-step-of-treating.html The European patent at issue in T 1437/21 (EP 2981271) related to the second medical use of a known drug (empagliflozin) in a subpopulation of patients. The prior art cited against the patent was the patentee’s own press releases reporting the success of a phase III clinical trial of the drug in the... Continue reading

     
  • UKIPO’s report on “Emerging public perceptions of intellectual property in UK media”

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/03/ukipos-report-on-emerging-public.html   On 29 February 2024, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) released a report on “Emerging public perceptions of intellectual property in UK media” authored by fellow Kat Hayleigh Bosher. This report follows a report on “The impact of complicit social media influencers on male’s consumption of counterfeit goods... Continue reading

     
  • Wednesday Whimsies

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/03/wednesday-whimsies.html EasterKat With spring now clearly with us in the Northern Hemisphere and Easter just around the corner for those who celebrate, here’s the usual miscellany of IP news, opportunities, events, and so on. Here we go! Events and conferences 7 May 2024: The Professor Bill Cornish Memorial Lecture 2024... Continue reading

     
  • E&W Court of Appeal upholds TM/passing-off judgment in Lidl v Tesco

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/03/e-court-of-appeal-upholds-tmpassing-off.html In last week’s eagerly anticipated judgment, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (the Court) upheld the High Court’s findings of trademark infringement and passing off against Tesco in respect of its “Clubcard Prices” signs, which were found to have conveyed the message to consumers that it was price-matching... Continue reading

     
  • Never Too Late: If you missed the IPKat last week!

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/03/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-last_26.html Could have benefitted from the public holidays a week earlier? Not to worry, here’s the summary of what you missed during the longer work week. Trade Marks It’s the time of year when fluffy creatures of anon-Kat variety get all the attention. Image from Pixabay. Katfriend Hans Eriksson shared... Continue reading

     
  • CJEU rules on CMOs and freedom to provide services under EU law

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/03/cjeu-rules-on-cmos-and-freedom-to.html Last week, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its ruling in LEA, C‑10/22. It held that the legislation of a Member State that completely prohibits independent management entities established in another Member State from offering their copyright management services within the former is incompatible with... Continue reading