Exclusive: UPC chief judge signals new guidelines on judicial conflicts
The Unified Patent Court could issue new guidelines on how to manage judicial conflicts of interest before the new system opens next year, the UPC’s chief judge has revealed.
Klaus Grabinski, president of the UPC Court of Appeal, made the comments exclusively to Managing IP in what was his first interview since he was appointed in October.
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Quartet of CJEU rulings hand packaging wins to pharma brands
The Court of Justice of the EU ruled in favour of pharmaceutical companies in four cases that centred on parallel imports, outcomes which practitioners said would protect patients from unfamiliar packaging.
On Thursday, November 17, the CJEU found that a trademark owner of a reference or generic product may oppose a parallel importer’s attempt to market a generic if the packaging has been significantly altered. Three of the judgments involved Swiss company Novartis, and the other German outfit Bayer.
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George Freeman reappointed UK IP minister after delay
George Freeman was reappointed UK minister with responsibility for intellectual property, it was confirmed on Monday, November 21.
Freeman held the role in former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government from September 2021 until the latter’s resignation in July this year. He was replaced by Dean Russell during Liz Truss’s short-lived tenure as prime minister, but the role became vacant in October after Truss resigned.
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Exclusive: Delhi court denies Nokia’s plea in SEP feud against Oppo
The Delhi High Court denied Nokia’s plea that sought an order for Oppo to deposit royalty payments with the court as security in a standard essential patent dispute on November 17.
The court reserved its decision in December 2021 following extensive arguments from both sides. It is the latest judgment in a patent battle between the pair that has spanned four countries.
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Other articles published by Managing IP this week include:
Qualcomm legal counsel: ‘we seldom bring plaintiff-side litigation’
CIPA president-elect: UK attorneys must fight for UPC work
How IP firms handle clients that don’t pay their bills
How four firms won IP business and clients
CMS concerns spark calls for UPC sunrise delay
UPC chief judge talks ‘unique’ rules and teething problems
Collaboration needed to see off big law’s billable hour obsession
Elsewhere in IP
VICO by default
The EPO has said videoconference will be the default format of oral proceedings in opposition from January next year. In an announcement on Tuesday, November 22, the office said it evaluated feedback from stakeholders and that the reaction of most users was positive. Only under certain circumstances, and when the Opposition Division permits, will oral proceedings in opposition be conducted in person.
SCOTUS samples Jack Daniel's
The US Supreme Court agreed to take up a trademark case involving whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s on Monday, November 21. The dispute was brought by Jack Daniel’s against VIP Products, an Arizona-based company that sells products mimicking liquor, beer, wine and soda bottles. The dispute is likely to raise interesting issues about the nature of parody as a defence.
Record-breaking Dow win stands
Over in Canada, the Supreme Court, in an eight-one majority ruling, affirmed the record-setting C$645 million ($483 million) patent infringement award in Dow v Nova. The judgment, handed down on Tuesday, November 22, dismissed Nova’s appeal against decisions by the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal. The C$645 million, originally handed down in 2017, was the largest reported Canadian patent infringement award in history.
WIPO latest
IP filings remained strong during 2021, WIPO’s World Intellectual Property Indicators report, published on Monday, November 21, showed. Innovators around the world filed 3.4 million patent applications in 2021, up 3.6% from the previous year, with offices in Asia receiving 67.6% of all applications worldwide.
Twitter troubles
It’s been a tumultuous few weeks for Twitter since it was acquired by billionaire Elon Musk. The latest issue, according to a Daily Mail article on Monday, November 21, is that users are apparently posting full-length films to the platform in breach of its copyright policy. The article asks whether Musk has “broken Twitter’s copyright system”.
