What's inside our April issue

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What's inside our April issue

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Copyright rankings, design developments, managing brand protection, a rare patent case in Hong Kong, our latest UPC scenario, and why you have been doing patent drawings wrong - just some of the articles in the April issue of Managing IP

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The April issue of the magazine was published on April 1, and is available to read online: sign in with your subscription details or take out a free trial for seven days. In this issue:

  • I report on the recent INTA/AIPPI Designs Conference in Singapore in our cover story "Why we love (and hate) design rights". We offer five reasons why design rights are great, and (in the interests of balance) five reasons why they might not be. The article includes links to our coverage of the recent Trunki designs case at the UK Supreme Court and the Apple v Samsung dispute heading to the US Supreme Court.

  • Katrina Burchell and Célia Ullmann look at the struggles companies face in organising their brand protection internal structure, budgets and reporting lines - and offer some practical advice in "How to manage brand protection internally"

  • The third article in our series looking at hypothetical scenarios in the UPC considers a standards case from the defendant's perspective. Michael Carter, Nick Cunningham and David Barron assess how the legal, procedural and competition issues will be handled in the new system.

  • Wenhui Zhang and Stephen Zou review recent decisions on supporting patent claims in China. This article is particularly relevant for those involved in the biotech and pharma industries.

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  • Till Lampel and Martina Pfaff look at a string of interesting trade mark cases from Germany involving colours, sweets and animals (pictured left).

  • Patent cases at Hong Kong's Court of Appeal are rare, but a recent judgment addressed sufficiency, novelty and inventive step among other issues. Nina Fitzgerald and Jeffrey McLean discuss it.

  • In a thought-provoking article on "The advantages of numeral word labelling", Amit Kumar Singh of TATA Steel asks if there is a better, clearer way to label the figures in patent documents.

The April issue also includes our roundups of IP news and moves, highlights from the Managing IP blog, website and social media, a special Utynam's Heirs from the International Patent Forum and our monthly collection of sponsored and free-to-read international briefings, covering the latest developments from Africa to Vietnam. 

It also features the third and final part of the IP STARS 2016 firm rankings, with the top copyright firms listed. See our recent blog post for more details.

Coming up in our bumper May issue, distributed from May 1:

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    All the news and photos from the Managing IP Global and North America Awards dinners (pictured right)

  • Disparaging marks in the US - analysis

  • Why the case law on design rights in the EU is looking up

  • Trade mark infringement and OEM in China - the latest cases discussed

  • Sports sponsorship: what to do when an endorser goes rogue

  • The top 250 women in IP listed

Plus much, much more!

Some of these articles will be available online before the hard copy is published, so to ensure you have immediate access, subscribe now and get the Managing IP emails.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Nick Redfearn, head of enforcement at Rouse and a classic car enthusiast, explains the sudden viral appearance of classic car restomod parts from China and the impact of IP in this new trade
Our 2026 rankings for Western Europe, taken with historical data, reveal that some European IP markets hardly change – while others are more fluid
Selina Hinchliffe, head of commercial services at Shakespeare Martineau, reflects on rejecting Cambridge, leading through empathy, and why authenticity matters more than fitting in
US corporates are using the UPC, but much of that work still flows to European boutiques. Last week’s merger, as well as others, could alter that dynamic
Publicly listed Australian group IPH delivered on its promise to profoundly shake up the Canadian market. Four years on, rivals have had time to adapt
IP practitioners debate whether new guidelines will make it more difficult to challenge a patent
Varuni Paranavitane says she is excited to bring ‘rounded expertise’ to the firm, which will have a solicitor in its ranks for the first time
Lawyers adapting to AI-driven recommendations are being pushed to demonstrate expertise publicly rather than simply relying on a polished website
Mid-market businesses looking to establish an online presence need ‘holistic’ brand protection services at an accessible cost, according to partners
Our latest update also includes the latest case filing statistics, and an update on how a transatlantic merger could be a UPC opportunity for the US half of the partnership
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