Herbert Smith Freehills' European IP team have had a feature article on the EU's IP Action Plan published in the April edition of PLC Magazine – see EU Action Plan on IP – the challenge ahead here. The article looks at the current challenges for the EU in relation to IP, its key focus areas and plans for future regulation and legislation, including: • The Unified Patent Court (UPC) • Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) • Compulsory licensing • Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) • AI and emerging technologies • Counterfeiting • Designs • Geographical Indications • Data • The Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe Read more

The life sciences and healthcare sector is subject to complex regulation and decisions of Government bodies can have a significant impact on the availability and production of pharmaceutical products.  Where Government bodies take decisions of this nature, and there is no other recourse available, judicial review provides an avenue to healthcare companies and others to challenge Government decisions. Herbert Smith Freehills has had a practice note published in Practical Law which considers the various grounds of judicial review, the application of these grounds to specific cases in the healthcare sector and some particular considerations to be taken into account when making a judicial review application. Read more

In a recent decision, the High Court has found that a clause in a settlement agreement which was aimed at protecting a business’s IP rights was not penal, despite imposing “undoubtedly extremely harsh” consequences for breach of certain obligations in a settlement agreement. Under the clause, the relevant party would cease to receive any payment … Read more

Last year the UK High Court decided that an AI system cannot be named as inventor on a patent application within the meaning of the Patents Act 1977, simply because an AI is not a person – but with the UKIPO recently calling for views on AI inventorship, could a change in law be on … Read more

Key recent developments in the United Kingdom and Europe relating to patents and the pharmaceutical sector In this edition we cover an important decision on sufficiency in England & Wales. We also cover several significant updates from the French courts, including two important decisions on SPC law. We also report on interim decisions of the Court of … Read more

After the German Parliament's upper house, the Bundesrat, passed the legislation to allow Germany to ratify the UPC Agreement (UPCA), there have been two challenges filed before the German Constitutional Court.  As a result, according to information from the Federal President’s office, he has been asked to delay his signature, which is required in order for the legislation to enter into force. This time the challenges include interim injunction applications, but we expect that if these are rejected, Germany will deposit its ratification of the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPCA and not await the full decision. Read more

Considering how to enforce your IP rights online and make maximum use of the take-down procedures? Read Victoria Horsey, Joanna Silver and Sabesh Asokan’s practical tips in their practice notes, recently updated and published in Practical Law: • Enforcement of intellectual property rights across online platforms: injunctions A checklist on the circumstances in which a … Read more

In the latest edition of the HSF Automotive sector's series of articles looking at the evolution of the industry Andrew Moir, Ina vom Feld, Frédéric Chevallier, David Webb and Laura Adde of our London, Düsseldorf and Paris IP teams consider some of the key issues surrounding standard essential patents or SEPs for those in the sector. These include, in particular, how standards work, their role in the Automotive sector, how fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing operates, and the risks of litigation and the varying approaches across Europe (in the UK, Germany and France in particular). Read more