The UK has left the EU, but for IP rights in the UK everything is very much the same for the duration of the transition period (currently ending at 23.00 on 31 December 2020) during which the UK continues to be treated as part of the EU from the point of view of EU legislation. At the end of transition, the UK Government will provide replacement rights for what were previously EU-wide rights that were current at the end of transition, but all is not as straightforward as that might sound. Read more
On 19 February 2020, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published three policy papers as part of its strategy to “shape Europe’s digital future”: a white paper on artificial intelligence (AI) (the “AI White Paper”), a communication on a European strategy for data (the “Data Strategy Communication”), and a communication on shaping Europe’s digital future (the … Read more
In our latest Public Law blog post, Andrew Lidbetter, Nusrat Zar, Jasveer Randhawa and Claire Hall discuss the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s recently published report on artificial intelligence and its impact on public standards. They comment on the Committee’s recommendations for the governance and regulation of AI in the public sector, aimed at … Read more
On 11 and 12 February the UK Supreme Court heard the appeal brought by Kymab against the judgment of the Court of Appeal which found Regeneron’s European Patents (UK) No 1 360 287 and its divisional EP (UK) No 2 264 163 valid and infringed, reversing the invalidity finding of the first instance court (see … Read more
We are delighted to publish episode 2 of our IP podcast series 'Plausibility' in patent law, with speakers Andrew Wells (one of the winners of the 2019 AIPPI prize for UK AIPPI Group's study questions for his contribution on the plausibility question) and Rachel Montagnon.Read more
Key recent developments in the United Kingdom and Europe relating to patents and the pharmaceutical sector In this issue we report on the Supreme Court decision of Shanks v Unilever on employee inventor compensation. We update on two CJEU decisions relation to public access to documents submitted to the EMA and a key competition decision on “pay-for-delay” agreements. We … Read more
In the latest edition in our Future of Consumer series, our Milan office looks at the impact of the EU's "New Deal for Consumers" , with a particular focus on Italy.
A spate of high-profile cases across the EU has brought the spotlight firmly on how to combat unfair commercial practices and increase consumer protection. The European Commission has been focussing on how to increase consumer protection and reinforce the EU's reputation for being a high quality, safe trading place. The outcome is the EU's "New Deal for Consumers" legislative package which came into force on 7 January 2020. Member States have 24 months to implement it. Read more
On 30 January 2020 the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) clarified for the first time the criteria governing whether so-called “pay-for-delay” agreements entered into between originator and generic pharmaceutical companies fall foul of EU competition law rules. Such agreements are a form of patent dispute settlement, whereby in return for a value transfer, a generic … Read more
Open Innovation: Forging innovation and collaboration In the first of a two-part series on open innovation, we explore how organisations can manage and benefit from the changing nature of innovation and collaboration. Open Innovation: IP, data and competition issues In part two, we look deeper into some specific issues that arise in the context of … Read more
