Search results for

Nestlé has lost its latest legal battle against Cadbury over the shape of its KitKat chocolate bar at the Court of Appeal.

Karolina Wiktorson and Benjamin Hoffmann of Valea review cases relating to the question of contributory infringement, and ask whether the outcome of these may change once the UPC Agreement comes into force

Finally, the highly publicised case regarding the construction of the 49 storey residential condominium building called Torre de Manila (pictured) as marring the view of the statue of the Philippines' national hero Jose Rizal has come to an end. On April 25 2017, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition for injunction filed by the Knights of Rizal (KOR), a "civic, patriotic, cultural, non-partisan, non-sectarian and non-profit organisation" against the developer DMCI Homes Inc, City of Manila, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, et al (GR No 213948). The petition was filed by KOR on September 12 2014 which argued that the completed Torre de Manila would "forever ruin the sightline of the Rizal Monument in Luneta Park" since it would "loom at the back and overshadow the entire monument, whether up close or viewed from a distance". The KOR also argued that the building is nuisance per se; and that the Rizal Monument as a National Treasure is entitled to full protection of the law.

Eminent Luggage Corporation, a renowned Taiwan-based company engaged in the design and manufacturing of luggage cases, filed a civil patent infringement lawsuit with Taiwan's IP Court against an infringer. In the lawsuit, the defendant challenged the validity of the design patent, arguing that another brand of luggage case manufactured in China had already adopted the very same trunk panel design prior to its filing date.

Efes Breweries International NV, a famous beer company, filed a trade mark application 2014735627 for Золотая Бочка Шаболовское (Golden Barrel from Shabolovka). The patent office examiner refused the application arguing that the claimed designation could not be registered because it contained the word "Shabolovka" which is a street in Moscow. According to the examiner, the presence of this word creates associations with Moscow while the applicant is located in the Netherlands. Thus, this designation could confuse consumers with regard to the producer of the goods, namely his location.

For some time already, there has been a tendency in European and German case law to restrict protection for signs containing functional elements.

In the Dutch saga of the cross-border legal dispute between Novartis and Sun regarding commercialisation of zoledronic acid for treating osteoporosis, the Hague District Court in proceedings on the merits ruled in a verdict of April 5 2017 (ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2017:3430) that Sun directly infringes a Swiss-type medical use claim in European patent 1 296 689 B3, owned by Novartis.

In February 2017, new guidelines were published by the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) that should be followed by medicaments or drugs considered as new molecules before the new molecules committee for evaluation, including the non-person modalities.

Zoledronic acid hydrate (zoledronate) is a medicinal compound created by Novartis and is also an active substance of the bone resorption inhibitor named Zometa for i v infusion. Novartis filed a Japanese patent application including the claimed invention as follows: "An agent for treatment containing 2-(imidazol-1-yl)-1-hydroxyethane-1,1-diphosphonic acid (Zoledronate) or pharmaceutically acceptable salts, wherein 4 mg of Zoledronate is to be administered intravenously over a period of 15 minutes to a patient in need of bisphosphonate treatment."