Trade mark protection in virtual worlds/the metaverse – IP offices respond with new classes for registration of virtual goods/NFTs as trade marks and the EUIPO deals with “metaverse” marks

    The new version of the Nice Classification, the 12th edition, carries new categories for registration of trade marks in relation to NFTs and is being used by several national trade mark offices including the EUIPO and IP Australia. Read more to discover the approach being taken there and in the UK to marks in the metaverse? Read more

    Australian High Court smooths out wrinkle in trade mark law: Reputation not relevant to ‘deceptive similarity’ test of infringement

    The High Court has clearly set out in Self Care v Allergan that the reputation of a trade mark is not relevant when assessing deceptive similarity in infringement proceedings.1 In a unanimous decision, overruling a three-judge bench of the Full Federal Court, the High Court held that Self Care did not infringe Allergan’s ‘BOTOX’ mark by its use … Read more

    Can an AI be an inventor of a patent? DABUS/Thaler appeal comes before the UK Supreme Court

    The UK Supreme Court has today (2 March 2023) heard the appeal by Dr Thaler against the Court of Appeal's dismissal of his appeal from the Comptroller of Patents in relation to a patent application for which the inventor was an AI (DABUS), and which the Comptroller had dismissed when Dr Thaler provided a statement of inventorship identifying an AI as the inventor. But why does it matter whether an AI can be an inventor of a patent?   Read more

    Webinar: The Unified Patent Court (UPC) countdown has started – are you ready?

    After years of debate and preparation, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is set to start accepting cases on 1 June 2023. We invite you to join our pan-European IP team for a webinar on 29 March 2023 as we assess the biggest shake-up in the region's approach to IP for a generation. The changes will impact on those with European patents (EPs) as well as those selling into or operating in Europe even if they do not have EPs. Our leading lawyers from Düsseldorf, Milan, Paris and London will explain what you need to know and what you should be doing now to prepare for the UPC and unitary patent (UP). Read more

    UK withdraws plans for broader Text and Data Mining (TDM) copyright and database right exception

    The UK Minister for Science, Research and Innovation has stated in Parliament that the UK Government will not be proceeding with an extension to the UK's text and data mining exception that would have allowed, to allow much broader access to materials needed for machine learning and to train AI systems, which had been proposed in 2022 following the UK Government's consultation on changes to IP legislation that might be necessitated by the advent of AI. This means that the only exception for TDM will remain its use for non-commercial purposes, which in turn may mean that AI developers are more cautious about doing R&D work in the UK than they might have been if the broader exception had been pursued. Read more

    Self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin can proceed with claim that Bitcoin branch networks breach his intellectual property rights

    Dr Craig Wright claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin and to have authored the Bitcoin White Paper in 2008, created the Bitcoin File Format and mined the inaugural block in the Bitcoin Blockchain – the ‘Genesis Block’.  Despite the Bitcoin White Paper having promoted de-centralisation, Dr Wright is now seeking to prevent others from … 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