Innovation, IP and the energy transition – Creative tensions

The scale of the change needed to tackle climate change is enormous and it is clear the global transformation to a low carbon economy will be underpinned by technological innovation. Incredibly, according to the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 report, almost half of emission reductions required by 2050 will come from technologies currently at the demonstration or prototype stage. So, attracting investment and increasing the speed with which this technology can come to market is critical. Read more

Series: The IP in AI

Uses of machine learning and AI are expanding rapidly, and IP rights play a critical role in both regulating the use of AI and protecting the rights of inventors and creators. In this series, we will explore the key challenges governments worldwide are currently grappling with in order to provide the right level of protection … Read more

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) starts today – 1 June 2023

Today marks the launch of the new Unified Patent Court (UPC) and unitary patent (UP) system in Europe – the culmination of decades of work, bringing with it fundamental changes to the way in which patents can be litigated in Europe. Find out more about the UPC, the unitary patent, and how our fully integrated … Read more

The IP in AI: Does copyright protect AI-generated works?

In this instalment of our series The IP in AI, we take a look at the extent to which copyright and other rights currently provide protection for output generated by AI systems, including how concepts of 'authorship' and 'originality' may need to be adapted to meet the rapid growth of generative AI. Read more

Deposit of final required ratification means that the UPC will to go live on 1 June 2023

The Unified Patent Court will start to accept cases on 1 June 2023 and the sunrise period for opt-out of European patents from the new court's jurisdiction will start on 1 March. Germany has today (17 February 2023) deposited its instrument of ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA), the final ratification required to trigger the run-up period to the start of the UPC. The arrival of the UPC will mark a fundamental change in patent litigation in Europe, providing a one-stop-shop for resolution of patent disputes - with the possibility of pan-European injunction and damages awards but also of the revocation (loss) of patents across participating states in one action too Read more

The IP in NFTs – Strategies for protecting your brands and products in the metaverse

The creation ("minting") and sale and use of NFTs raises many IP issues which we have discussed in our previous posts in our IP in NFTs series. However, brand owners and product manufacturers must also be vigilant in monitoring the virtual marketplaces to ensure that third parties are not creating NFTs that infringe their own IP rights.  This is especially true where the company is considering releasing or has released NFTs, because the public will begin to associate the brand with NFTs (which could include infringing NFTs).  There are several strategies that companies could adopt to minimise this risk. Read more