The Unified Patent Court (UPC) has again faced several questions about the granting of provisional measures. In a case involving a patent for herbicide compositions, the UPC Munich Local Division was asked to consider whether the alleged infringer's marketing of a product within the Contracting Member States under the same brand name as a clearly infringing product sold outside the Member States created a risk of first (or imminent) infringement. The Munich Local Division was also asked to consider whether the patent owner had unreasonably delayed the commencement of the action. This Kat ..read more

IPKat-approved Laion A few days ago, the District Court of Hamburg delivered what appears to be the first judgment in Europe on the construction and application of the national transpositions of the text and data mining (TDM) exceptions found in Arts. 3 and 4 of the DSM Directive (310 O 227/23). As reported on The IPKat and elsewhere, the Hamburg court ruled that LAION could rely on the exception found in Section 60d UrhG (TDM for scientific research purposes). By this provision, Germany had transposed Art. 3 of the DSM Directive into its own law. So far, the decision has attracted ..read more

If the cozy feeling of Autumn got you away, here is the summary of the previous week on The IPKat.  IP opportunities, events, and news A Kat feeling cozy Eleonora Rosati announced the upcoming IPKat webinar on image rights in the age of AI. If you wonder how to protect one's own image, join our online event hosted by international law firm Bird & Bird LLP on 30 October 2024, from 18:00 to 19:30 CET. For more details and registration, kindly click here. Jocelyn Bosse notified the IPKat readers of the various IP opportunities and news in the latest Tuesday Wonders post. Th ..read more

Whenever things went badly for the Rat-in-a-Hat (a character in the Australian children's TV show Bananas in Pyjamas), he would exclaim frustratedly, "Ohhh... cheese and whiskers!" This Kat imagines that the owners of the geographical indication (GI) for the Italian cheese called "Asiago" are probably saying something similar after their recent, unsuccessful opposition before the Australian Trade Marks Office. The case forms part of the long-running conflict between Australian and European producers about control over the names of wines, cheeses, and other products. This Kat is delighted to sh ..read more

Like many other celebrities (think of: Scarlett Johansson or Drake), The IPKat also has a characteristic appearance – not to say: objective beauty and appeal – worth protecting against the frequent third-party misappropriation attempts. Yet, the very protection of one’s own likeness and other personal features (for example: voice, silhouette, etc) may vary very significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, with virtually no international or – to the exclusion of data protection / privacy aspects – regional (EU) level playing field . For example: ‘image rights’ are not recognized as su ..read more

October is here, and with it, new events and opportunities for the IP community! This Kat's favourite plant for the month of October is, of course, the pumpkin! Image from Pixabay. People, Plants, and the Law lecture series This online lecture series returns for another year to explore the special role of the law in shaping how people engage with plants, whether in farmers’ fields, scientific laboratories, international markets, or elsewhere. The next three lectures have been announced, with the first taking place next week. Please make sure to check the time zones as t ..read more

Busy week in the IP world; here is the summary of last week’s IPKat updates! GIF by Riana Harvey Trade marks Katfriend Ian Gill (AA Thornton) analysed the Four Appeals and a Recusal in Xactware Solutions Inc. vs. Buildxact Software Ltd. One of the issues derived from the UK IPO opposition decision BL O/0298/23. Furthermore, the Recusal Issue concerned the UK IPO's reassignment of Mr. Bryant, the original Hearing Officer, which prompted a second appeal. The Appellant (Xactware Solutions) argued that Mr. Bryant should not hear the case again for several reasons. Overall, the case e ..read more

The Ukrainian IP Office recently announced that it has registered several works that, in addition to copyrightable content, also included artificial intelligence (AI) generated images protected under the new Ukrainian sui generis right for computer-generated subject-matter. The first registered work is a book with a collection of images titled “Easter cards”, where AI-generated images are included. A children’s book and a poetry book, both with AI-generated illustrations, have been registered as well. Applicable law In December 2022, Ukrainian Parliament adopted a new copyright law, Law N ..read more

The scope of the General Court’s jurisdiction in appeals against decision of the Board of Appeal (‘BoA’) of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (‘EUIPO’) is laid down in Art. 72 EUTMR. Advocate General (‘AG’) Priit Pikamäe recently found that the General Court had exceeded its jurisdiction by holding that a trade mark application was not sufficiently represented. The BoA had previously found that the mark lacked distinctiveness. Background On 1 September 2016, Neoperl filed an EU trade mark application for the following sign: The mark was referred to as a ’position tactile ma ..read more

In a recent decision ([2024] EWHC 2282 (Ch)) on trade mark revocation and infringement, the High Court of England & Wales (the Court) held that there was no likelihood of confusion between "easylife" marks, owned by the EasyGroup, and "easylive" marks.  Background The Claimant, EasyGroup Ltd (EasyGroup), is part of the well-known "Easy" group of companies controlled by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of easyJet. The "Easy" group is famously protective of its trade marks, and does not shy away from suing other companies using "easy"-formative brands.   The First ..read more