Views on an evolving automotive industry – standards and essential patents

13 January, 2021
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

Bundesrat passes UPC legislation – UPC could open its doors in 2022

18 December, 2020
Today, the German Bundesrat (the upper house of the German Parliament) passed the Unified Patent Court (UPC) legislation, bringing us one step closer to the start of the UPC. To come into force, the law will now have to be signed by the Federal Government, the Federal President and, finally, published in the Federal Law … Read more

Trust on a plate: consumer confidence and food safety

09 December, 2020
Consumer confidence in the origins and safety of the food they purchase and consume is a significant aspect of food brand protection and longevity. Maintaining that confidence involves the use of many different strategies, rights and regulatory controls at national and international level. In Trust on a plate: consumer confidence and food safety, the latest briefing in our Future of Consumer series, contributors Italy, Australia, the UK, China, Indonesia and across the EU cover food trust issues including geographical indications, labelling, supply chain transparency and food crime. Read more

Glaxo’s purple inhalers fail to get trade mark protection

17 September, 2020
Like Cadbury before them, Glaxo’s hard-fought attempts to register a trade mark for a shade of purple have been rejected. In this case, Glaxo had sought to register the colour of its seretide inhalers and asthma treatments as a trade mark, by providing the description “Purple – Pantone: 2787C” and this sign: The General Court … Read more

The Unified Patent Court – on the move again?

11 September, 2020
The UPC Preparatory Committee met yesterday (10.9.20) to discuss UK withdrawal and German ratification. It agreed that, on a temporary basis (in order not to delay the start of the UPC system further), Munich and Paris would split the workload London would have taken as the life sciences seat of the central division of the UPC.  Milan looks to be a lead candidate for the location of this seat of the central division in the longer term. Read more

CJEU rules that providing free samples of non-prescription drugs to pharmacists is permitted

25 June, 2020
CJEU rules that providing free samples of non-prescription drugs to pharmacists is permitted On 11 June, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“) ruled on the question of whether free samples to pharmacists of medicines may be supplied by pharmaceutical companies to pharmacists. The German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) had referred questions regarding … Read more

Brompton Bicycle – far from folded

11 June, 2020
CJEU follows Cofemel in allowing copyright protection where designs are not exclusively dictated by technical function The CJEU has decided in the Brompton Bicycle case C-833/18 (11 June 2020) that to qualify for copyright, a design must be original – that is, the subject matter must reflect the personality of its author (the creator or designer), as an … Read more