Intellectual Property

Welcome to the home of intellectual property on Law-Now.

On this page, you will find all the articles and publications for intellectual property.

To stay in touch with the latest developments, please bookmark this page on your mobile or register to receive eAlerts.

Recent Articles

  •  
    14/03/2024
    Europe

    “Pre-branded” spare parts: CJEU has its say in Audi trade mark case

    The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has given its ruling following a referral from the Regional Court of Warsaw, in a trade mark infringement claim brought by Audi (Audi AG v GQ, Case C-334/22). Audi’s complaint related to spare radiator grilles sold by the defendant (GQ) which featured an element designed to accommodate an emblem or badge representing Audi’s logo. The CJEU found that a spare part of this nature – which was essentially customised with the intention of having a particular third party trade mark affixed to it – could potentially infringe that...
    Read more
  •  
    13/03/2024
    United Kingdom

    To milk or not to milk - Oatly wins appeal against invalidity of its ‘POST MILK GENERATION’ trade mark in the UK

    IntroductionThe High Court recently allowed an appeal by Oatly against a decision of the Intellectual Property Office ("IPO”) which had found the trade mark ‘POST MILK GENERATION’ to be invalid as it was deceptive in relation to oat based products (contrary to section 3(4) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (the “Act”)).  The High Court overturned the IPO’s ruling and declared Oatly’s trade mark to be validly registered, ruling that the use of the term ‘milk’ in Oatly’s marketing did not amount to its products being “designated”...
    Read more
  •  
    12/03/2024
    APAC region

    APAC IP Update – Winter 2023/24

    ChinaChina’s State Council releases Amended Implementing Regulations of the Patent LawOn 21 December 2023, China’s State Council released the Amended Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law.  The Implementing Regulations explained how several provisions of China’s amended Patent Law of 2021 are being implemented after going into effect on 20 January 2024.The main changes include:minimum inventor remuneration for service inventions is raised to RMB 4,000 for invention patent and RMB 1,500 for design and utility model;patent term adjustment must be requested within three...
    Read more
  •  
    11/03/2024
    England and Wales

    IPEC dismisses trade mark and passing off claim in lemon cider dispute (Thatchers v Aldi)

    This case illustrates some of the difficulties that brand owners face when trying to protect themselves against lookalikes, especially in the fast-moving and competitive market of alcoholic beverages. The court considered the evidence of reputation, intention, confusion and damage, and found it insufficient to establish either trade mark infringement or passing off.Evidence that the Thatcher’s product was the benchmark when creating the Aldi product was not in itself persuasive. The majority of design decisions were said to have been made orally at Aldi, making the Thatchers case hard to...
    Read more
  •  
    05/03/2024
    EU

    Domain names are assets that can be attached

    On 16 January 2024, the Brussels Court of First Instance rendered an interesting decision about the right of a creditor to attach the domain names of his debtor and to sell them to the highest bidder.We all know that the value of domain names can be very high. According to the American domain name and web hosting company GoDaddy, the 25 most expensive domain names publicly reported are valued between USD 5 million and USD 49 million. The most expensive domain name ever sold, Cars.com, had a price tag of USD 872 million, according to SEC files accessed by GoDaddy.A good domain name is...
    Read more
  •  
    05/03/2024
    United Kingdom

    Gin-spiration: The latest lessons from M&S vs Aldi - the appeal

    BackgroundA year ago, we commented on IPEC’s ruling on the gin bottle design dispute between Marks & Spencer and Aldi in which Judge Hacon found that the similarities between the bottles were significant and particularly striking when combined - see here.Following Judge Hacon’s judgment, Aldi were given leave to appeal based on seven grounds, and M&S raised a ground of appeal in their Respondent’s Notice. There was no challenge by Aldi to the claim of priority or to the validity of M&S’ four registered designs.Last week, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the...
    Read more