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Brands and IP newsnotes - issue 5
27 June 2017Welcome to the 5th edition of our Brands & IP newsnotes put together to bring you the latest, and most interesting legal developments affecting intellectual property law. In this issue we cover; the potential pitfalls of social media, design by artificial intelligence, interesting trade mark applications and cases, an update on the UPC, and the importance of protecting trade secrets.
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Give me a break…KitKat latest developments (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017Last month the Court of Appeal gave us the latest decision in the long running battle between Nestle and Cadbury. Interestingly, whilst agreeing that the well-known four- fingered chocolate snack should not be registered as a 3D trade mark, all three Lord Justices chose to give their own judgment. And for Nestle, this one might just take the biscuit.
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Get me a #covfefe (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017In case you missed it, the 45th President of the United States recently took his habit of late night tweeting to a new low. Presumably meaning to rail against the ‘mainstream media’ coverage, Trump instead complained of “negative press covfefe” and trailed off mid-sentence. Cue ridicule and the hashtag #covfefe trending on Twitter.
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Public goes nutellay crazy for AI design (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017Nutella hit the headlines in February this year after using an algorithm to produce millions of unique labels in Italy. The jars flew off the shelves with customers keen to get their hands on a one-of-a kind jar. Each label design was completely unique with only the Nutella logo remaining the same.
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Champagne supernova: Cristal brand owner sues cava producer (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017Do you know your Champagne from your Cava? Quite possibly, but a High Court judge held in late 2015 that a Spanish cava producer trading under the brand name, “Cristalino” had used a confusingly similar sign to that of the famous tipple preferred by rappers and the like, “Cristal”.
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All hands on deck as creative industries and search engines tackle online piracy (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017The UK Government, through the UKIPO, Ofcom and DMCS, has helped broker an agreement between Google, Bing, the BPI and Motion Picture Association over a new voluntary code of practice.
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To UPC or not UPC – implementation of Unified Patent Court delayed (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is intended to provide a regional forum resolve patent disputes. At the moment, parties have to litigate patent disputes on a country by country basis across Europe, which is time-consuming, expensive and can lead to differing decisions in some countries. UPC decisions will have effect in all 25 states participating in the UPC, providing a single forum to resolve these disputes.
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Playing with fire: user-generated content on Twitter (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017The strange world of Twitter, where brands engage with their customers at their peril. The main lesson learned from the recent #WalkersWave Twitter promotion is one that brands have heard before: the British public love nothing more than a piss-take.
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Clash of the Titans: Google v Uber (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017In February, Waymo, part of Google’s parent company, sued Uber for theft of confidential information. Allegedly, a former employee of Waymo, who had been a key part of Google’s driverless car initiative, took 14,000 files and then shortly jumped ship to start up his own autonomous vehicle company. A short time later, Uber acquired the start-up for $680 million.
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Servicing trade mark infringement
22 June 2017The use of a third party trade mark to provide information or describe a service being offered does not necessarily constitute trade mark infringement. Where the use of a trademark goes beyond that and creates an impression in the average consumer that the particular serviced is authorised by the trade mark owner, this will constitute an infringement.
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Service of a claim form on an agent - was it valid?
22 June 2017In a recent case the High Court considered as a preliminary issue whether a claimant had validly served a claim form on what they considered was the agent of the claimant. The rules of service require that the defendant must be served at the place within the jurisdiction where it conducts business, or where it carries on its activities and which has a real connection with the claim. Therefore the question here was whether the agent’s office was a place at which the defendant conducted its business, or where it carried on its activities?
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Putting a squeeze on patent licences
20 June 2017The recent case of Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd v UCB Pharma SA & Celltech R&D Ltd [2017] EWHC 216 (Pat)
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Another purple patch for Trade Marks refused
12 May 2017In Glaxo v Sandoz the Court of Appeal has confirmed the invalidity of a trade mark for two shades of the colour purple relating to asthma inhalers.
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Advocate General’s Opinion – Uber provides a transport service not an information society service
11 May 2017The Advocate General states the Uber is providing a transport service and it not acting as an electronic intermediary and providing an information society service. Uber therefore should have to comply with local laws for the licensing of taxi operators
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Time to add more defendants?
21 April 2017In a recent decision the Court of Appeal has had to decide whether a claim for accessory liability against various companies was time barred. Glaxo Wellcome UK Ltd (t/a Allen & Hanburys) Anor v Sandoz Ltd & Anor [2017] EWCA Civ 22.
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Marathon Asset misses the jackpot again
12 April 2017After being awarded only £2 in nominal damages in its breach of confidence case, Marathon Asset has been heavily penalised on costs after failing to accept the defendants’ Part 36 offer.
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How to deal with Twitter spats: Katie Hopkins' expensive mistake
Press
04 April 2017Joint Managing Partner, Giles Crown, and Senior Associate, Oliver Fairhurst have written an article for The Lawyer Monthly which comments on Katie Hopkins' recent twitter spat turned libel battle with food blogger Jack Monroe.
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Court of Appeal confirms deterrent sentences for copyright infringement
30 March 2017In Regina v Evans the Court of Appeal has provided guidance on the appropriate level of sentencing for criminal offences under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Court of Appeal confirmed that the sentence should have a deterrent effect.
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It’s obvious, patents are not child’s play!
28 March 2017In a recent decision the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court had to consider whether a patent for a children’s toy consisting of water soluble, fusible, translucent beads was merely an aesthetic creation, and therefore excluded from patentability and if not, whether the patent claims lacked an inventive step and were obvious. If the patent was valid, the Court also had to determine whether it was infringed by the Defendant’s product.
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Bad timing for a counterclaim
27 February 2017The provisions of section 35(3) of the Limitation Act 1980 will not enable a defendant to bring counterclaim that would otherwise be time barred before the proceedings had commenced.