Author: John Richards | Practices: , | Tags: , , , , ,

ECJ DECISION IN SKY v. SKYKICK FINDS THAT TRADEMARK REGISTRATIONS WILL NOT BE INVALIDATED FOR HAVING UNCLEAR AND IMPRECISE LISTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES AND ALSO CLARIFIES TESTS FOR BAD FAITH TRADEMARK FILINGS

The eagerly anticipated decision of the European Court of Justice in the case of Sky v. SkyKick was delivered on January 29, 2020. The Court’s decision came as a relief to trademark owners after the Advocate General’s opinion was followed in...

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Author: John Richards | Practices: , , | Tags: , , , , , , ,

DESIGN PATENT PROTECTION FOR REPLACEMENT PARTS

The fight between insurers and car manufacturers as to whether and, if so how, to protect the design of spare parts for cars delayed the implementation of an EU regulation on design protection for well over a decade and ended in an uneasy...

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Author: John Richards | Practices: , , , , , , , , | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

IT’S 2018: THE IMPACT OF IP DECISIONS FROM 2017

2017 saw a bumper crop of Supreme Court decisions on intellectual property matters around the world including eight by the United States Supreme Court, two by the Canadian Supreme Court, and two by the United Kingdom Supreme Court. U.S. Supreme...

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Author: John Richards | Practices: | Tags: , , , , ,

UK SUPREME COURT DECISION IN ACTAVIS v. ELI LILLY – DOCTRINE OF EQUIVALENTS RECOGNIZED

In its decision of July 12, 2017 in Actavis v. Eli Lilly, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom for the first time formally adopted the concept of a doctrine of equivalents when considering what constituted an infringement under UK patent law. The...

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Author: John Richards | Practices: , , , | Tags: , , , ,

COPYRIGHT PROTECTION FOR MASS-PRODUCED ARTICLES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Prior to a recent change in the law, copyright protection in an artistic work expired after 25 years if articles embodying the work had been applied industrially (defined as making more than fifty articles).  This kept the period of protection for...

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Author: John Richards | Practices: , , | Tags: , , ,

CASE 168/09 FLOS SPA v SEMERARO CASA E FAMIGLIA SPA

The District Court of Milan referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary opinion on the interrelation of the EU’s Council Directive 93/98 on the duration of copyright protection and Directive 98/71 relating to...

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