This week on MIP: UK Supreme Court exclusives, UPC ‘powerhouse’ launched, and more

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

This week on MIP: UK Supreme Court exclusives, UPC ‘powerhouse’ launched, and more

supreme-court-external-view-02-comp.jpg

We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis coverage from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP

Exclusive: Tillis to push USPTO-FDA bill through before year end

Senator Thom Tillis plans to put his USPTO-FDA collaboration bill to a full Senate vote before the end of the year, sources revealed to Managing IP this week.

The bill, which the Senate Judiciary Committee passed unanimously in July, would amend Section 2c of the US Code to allow the USPTO director to create an interagency task force on patents between the office and the Food and Drug Administration, if enacted.

Click here to read the full article

EIP and Amar Goussu Staub launch joint UPC ‘powerhouse’

Patent firms EIP and Amar Goussu Staub have joined forces to create a new Unified Patent Court litigation service, the pair announced on November 15.

The new firm, called EIP Amar, will include lawyers and patent attorneys from AGS offices in Paris and Lyon and EIP’s bases in the UK, Germany, and Sweden.

The UPC will have local and central divisions in France and Germany, as well as a regional division for the Baltics in Sweden.

Click here to read the full article

Exclusives: UK Supreme Court dates for DABUS and SkyKick appeals revealed

Managing IP exclusively revealed this week the dates for two potentially significant cases that the UK Supreme Court has earmarked for 2023.

The court will hear an appeal on whether an artificial intelligence tool called DABUS can be named as an inventor on a patent application, on March 2. Separately, the Sky v SkyKick hearing, which centres on bad-faith trademark filing, will be heard over two days on June 28 and 29.

AST eyes expansion into med tech and fintech

Allied Security Trust hopes to add more members in the health tech and fintech sectors, the organisation’s CEO Russell Binns revealed to Managing IP this week.

AST buys patents that its members want to license to reduce patent assertion risk. Binns said more non-practising entity litigation could soon emerge in these areas, making risk mitigation more important.

Click here to read the full article

Other articles published by Managing IP this week include:

In-house cagey over litigation funding appeal

NFTs can be property in Singapore – what that means for brands

Pressure grows on UK government to appoint new IP minister

Experience will benefit Italy’s UPC judges

Unitary patent is EU market’s ‘man on moon’ moment: UPC event

Elsewhere in IP

EU latest

The EUIPO’s Fifth Board of Appeal confirmed Banksy's ‘monkey’ EU trademark is valid on Tuesday, November 15, reversing an earlier decision. The EUIPO's Cancellation Division had ruled that Banksy never had any intention to use the mark and had annulled it.

Staying with the EU now, where the long-awaited Digital Services Act (DSA) finally entered into force on Wednesday, November 16. The DSA sets out new rules governing online activity, including the level of liability for platforms that allegedly host intellectual property-infringing content. Some lawyers have said the DSA does not go far enough.

VICO and more

Also in Europe, more than three quarters of EPO users said they looked favourably on virtual hearings, at least according to an EPO survey published on Monday, November 14. According to the findings, 77% of respondents found videoconference to be “good” or “very good”.

Still on patents, the US District Court for the Western District of Texas found on Tuesday, November 15, that Intel must pay VLSI Technology $948.8 million for infringing a VLSI patent for computer chips.

UK’s EU law review

In the UK, the UKIPO revealed on Tuesday, November 15, which IP laws it expects to be impacted by the government’s Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022.

That bill, published in September, set out plans to repeal all retained EU law by December 31 2023 unless it is converted into national law or tweaked. More than 60 pieces of IP legislation have been identified. The list may be updated.

Queen of Christmas?

In the US, singer Mariah Carey hits the news again – this time regarding a trademark application. The singer’s application to trademark ‘Queen of Christmas’ was denied by the USPTO after the singer failed to respond to an opposition, according to a USPTO notice on Monday, November 14. Earlier this month, Managing IP reported that the singer had been handed an early Christmas present after a copyright claim against her was dropped.

INTA changes

Sticking with the trademark world, INTA has announced that Jomarie Fredericks will be its new president for 2023 and chair of the board of directors.

Fredericks is deputy general counsel and chief IP and brand counsel at Rotary International. The company supports the work of 46,000 rotary clubs as well as The Rotary Foundation, which helps clubs' efforts to improve lives and strengthen communities. She will succeed current president Zeeger Vink, IP director at MF Brands Group.

That's it for this week, see you again next week.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

The High Court’s decision in WaterRower v Liking could have signalled the start of a new approach to determining whether designs can benefit from copyright protection
Maohua Wang, head of the IP group at King & Wood Mallesons in China, explains how the firm’s Eversheds deal affected the IP team and how his team meets clients’ litigation needs
Firms that advise generics businesses reflect on whether they’re seeing more aggressive tactics from innovators and how they’re managing their practices
Suspicions concerning AI in the legal space, and another copyright win for Ed Sheeran were among the biggest IP developments this week
Michael Sitzman, a life sciences litigator, explains how McDermott’s busy schedule at the UPC convinced him to join
The UK’s top court will hand down the decision next week, 17 months after hearing arguments in the crucial trademark dispute
Ceyda Maisami explains why HP is becoming more vocal in its SEP arguments and reveals why the company has transformed the way it engages with outside counsel
In the latest UPC update, we examine a ruling on director liability, another on the Gillette defence, and look ahead to cases concerning medical devices
Burak Yüceel outlines six characteristics that make a successful IP practitioner and explains why Alan Turing is an inspiration
Lawyers at Dentons unpick the findings of a survey that revealed that businesses tend to focus on reactive rather than proactive use of AI when performing IP evaluations
Gift this article