Emma And Rebekah Talk IP: How green is your trade mark?

In this cross-over episode with Talking Shop: A Consumer Sector Podcast Series, Emma Iles and Eliza Foley join Aoife Xuereb to discuss trade marks, certification marks and greenwashing risks in Australia. The use of trade marks and certification marks, like the Heart Foundation ‘tick’, by consumer companies to distinguish their product from competitors is not new. There is however an increasing array of certification marks being used to indicate to consumers that a product, its packaging or manufacturing method meets a certain sustainability performance standard, from the well established ‘FAIR TRADE’ mark to increasingly, carbon neutrality status and recyclability. Read more

UK Select Committee recommends legislation on AI including to establish and enforce rights of IP owners

The UK Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee (which recently conducted an inquiry into the impact of AI on several sectors) has published The Governance of Artificial Intelligence: Interim Report identifying 12 challenges of AI, including that for intellectual property, and recommends legislation during this parliament. The report also expresses concerns that the UK will fall behind if there are delays, given the moves made by the EU and US to regulate AI already. On IP it recommends that where AI models and tools make use of other people’s content, policy must establish the rights of the originators of this content, and these rights must be enforced. Read more

How green is your trade mark?

Emma Iles and Eliza Foley discuss trade marks, certification marks and greenwashing risks in Australia in the latest episode in our Consumer sector podcast series "Talking Shop". Read more

Live figures from the European Patent Office show healthy appetite for Unitary Patents

The European Patent Office has released a “Unitary Patent dashboard” offering “a timely snapshot of applicants’ eagerness to opt for the Unitary Patent”. Live figures show that as of today, 1 August 2023, there have been 5665 requests for unitary effect, with the most popular technologies being Infrastructure & Mechanics (20.8%), Health (19.2%) and Materials … Read more

The requirement for fixation in copyright – Self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor succeeds in establishing serious issues to be tried on appeal

Dr Craig Wright claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin and is asserting three Bitcoin-related copyright claims against a number of entities. In the appeal from the decision of Meade J that there was no serious issue to be tried on the merits of the claim in relation to copyright in the Bitcoin File Format (required in order for permission to be granted to service defendants outside the jurisdiction), Lord Justice Arnold and the Court of Appeal unanimously held that there was a serious issue to be tried, allowing the appeal and in the process elucidating the requirement for fixation in copyright claims. Read more

The UPC and unitary patents – six weeks in

Six weeks into the new Unified Patent Court and unitary patent, both elements of the new system seem to have taken off, with unitary patents proving popular and the first cases being filed (17 infringement and 3 revocation actions to date). Whilst opt-outs are high and teething problems remain with the case search systems and some practical procedural issues, a certain UPC momentum is developing, with the first preliminary injunctions and orders also being granted. Read more

Talking Shop: A consumer sector podcast series: Episode 5 – Why NFTs; why now?

Josh Todd, Giulia Maienza and George McCubbin join Aoife Xuereb to discuss the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) marketplace in the consumer sector – from fine wine and fashion to enhancing the customer experience. They explain how types of marketplaces work, whether that be trading NFT-linked physical products or digital assets in the real world or the metaverse. Commercial legal considerations include IP, … Read more

Remedies for IP infringement by NFTs – the MetaBirkins case continues

The US District Judge has now handed down its opinion and order (23 June 2023) on a number of post-trial motions sought by the parties in the "MetaBirkin" case and these provide some interesting insights into how courts may approach the question of remedies in non-fungible tokens (NFT) related cases. The motions for additional remedies (including the transfer of social media accounts and domain names, as well as the transfer of the NFTs and accounting for further income received via the NFTs) followed the Manhattan jury's decision in February 2023 to award Hermès US$133,000 in damages. Read more