Oppo to file ‘leapfrog’ appeal to UK Supreme Court
Oppo will appeal against an injunction granted to Nokia last week by going directly to the UK Supreme Court, Managing IP confirmed.
The England and Wales High Court granted the injunction on Thursday, September 7, after the Chinese company declined to commit to a licence for Nokia’s standard-essential patents on whatever terms the court deemed fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory.
But on Friday, September 8, the court also granted Oppo permission to apply for a leapfrog appeal to the Supreme Court. If granted, the appeal would skip the England and Wales Court of Appeal.
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IP firm says Tokyo office will reduce clients’ ‘litigation burden’
US patent litigation boutique Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone hopes its newly opened Tokyo office will ease the burden on Japanese clients that litigate in the US, a founding partner told Managing IP.
The firm announced on Monday, September 11, that it had opened a new office in Tokyo. The office will be led by partner Maxwell Fox.
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Other articles published by Managing IP this week include:
Why IP arbitration in Asia has yet to take off
Are referral deals the future of law firm partnerships in China?
Weekly take: Firms have more to gain than lose by hiring foreign lawyers
The IP Lounge: How law firms find partners, 5G patent developments
B minus? Why law firms struggle with ethics exams
Elsewhere in IP
SEP wars
Ericsson reiterated standard-essential patent (SEP) owners’ sharp criticism of the European Commission’s policy reform on Monday, September 11.
“The commission’s overly broad and imbalanced intervention into the currently successful telecoms innovation system places additional (and often duplicate) burdens on owners of EU SEPs without clear benefits or efficiency gains over the solutions that already exist today,” a blog post on the Swedish company’s site said.
Under the proposed rules, SEP owners would have to declare their patents in an EUIPO-run database and submit them for essentiality checks.
Screen shot
Samsung won a key claim construction hearing at the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in a patent infringement complaint against mobile display makers on Monday, September 11.
Mianyang BOE, one of China’s biggest organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen manufacturers, is among the respondents.
If Samsung is successful, the ITC could ban the import of the allegedly infringing devices into the US.
Name Generator
Brand protection company Corsearch launched its Name Generator tool to help companies create and clear taglines for use as trademarks, it was announced on Tuesday, September 12.
Corsearch said the platform would streamline the naming and clearance process, making it faster and more cost-effective.
The tool enables trademark attorneys, in-house legal teams, and marketing and branding professionals to get real-time feedback on their ideas.
Planet B
The slogan “Because there’s no Planet B” isn’t eligible for EU trademark protection, the EU General Court ruled on Wednesday, September 13.
The court found the phrase, which derives from a slogan used by environmental and climate change activists, wasn’t distinctive despite the addition of the word “because”.
Spanish company Ecoalf Recycled Fabrics had applied to register the mark in classes 3, 16, 18, and 21, covering goods and services including cosmetics, reusable bottles, and imitations of leather.
Injunction threat
The Unified Patent Court’s Helsinki division will hold a preliminary injunction hearing in a lawsuit over sports advertising tech on September 21.
The UPC confirmed the date of the hearing on Tuesday, September 12.
AIM Sport Vision is suing broadcasting platform Supponor over alleged infringement of a patent covering virtual advertising billboards.
The England and Wales High Court has previously found an AIM patent valid and infringed by Supponor.
Licensing spree
Huawei and Xiaomi reached a global cross-licence covering cellular tech including 5G, the Chinese tech companies announced yesterday, September 13.
"We are delighted to reach this licensing deal with Xiaomi," said Alan Fan, head of IP at Huawei.
"This licensing agreement once again reflects the industry's recognition of Huawei's contributions to communications standards and will help us enhance our investment in researching future mobile communications technologies.”
Huawei signed a similar deal with Oppo last December and with Ericsson last month.
That's it for today, see you again next week.
