News
18/6/09 NEWS ALERT: European Court of Justice creates new 'unfair competition' law - which applies in the UK
22/5/09 eBay found not liable for infringement in High Court case brought by L'Oreal
26/4/09 World IP Day - 26 April 2009
World IP Day to take place this weekend on the 26 April 2009
12/3/09 CTM news: 40% fee reduction on European Community Trade Marks - from 1 May 2009
CTM news: OHIM Fee Reductions for Community Trade Mark Applications and International Registrations to be implemented soon
9/3/09 L'Oreal -v- eBay High Court case commences
L'Oreal -v- eBay - action over fake & parallel goods
14/11/08 Trade Marks Directive (2008/95/EC) comes into force 28 November 2008
The new Trade Marks Directive replaces (but does not substantially amend) the old TM Directive (89/104/EEC)
28/10/08 .tel Domain Name Launch
.tel suffix is to be launched globally on 3 December 2008.
1/10/08 UK IPO: Company Names Tribunal
As from 1st October 2008, adjudicators at the UK IPO's newly formed Trade Marks Tribunal Section will only have the authority to deal with company name disputes that involve opportunistic company name registrations
18/7/08 Is this the beginning of the end? Protracted US copyright litigation could have significant ramifications on the online use of copyright material
Battle between media giants Viacom and Google could test the boundaries of liberal internet use
17/7/08 Moral rights protection in the UK
Whilst the protection of moral rights receives legislative recognition, arguably this protection is inadequate
17/7/08 Requirements for registration of a trade mark: absolute grounds for refusal
A trade mark will not be registrable if it falls foul of any of the absolute grounds, and some specific problems may be encountered.
17/7/08 The legal protection of unregistered trade marks
The legal protection of a trade mark is not necessarily dependant on registration.
16/7/08 The legal regulation of the internet: a copyright perspective
Copyright owners are left in a predicament over how to effectively protect and enforce their rights online.
15/7/08 Dispute over design rights in product packaging is settled
Out of court settlement between Robert Welch Designs Ltd and Marks & Spencers highlights the concerns of litigation costs felt by designers as against the financial strength of retail giants.
17/6/08 Case comment: O2 Holdings and another v Hutchinson 3G UK Ltd, Case C-533/06 (2008)
02 fail to prevent the use of its bubble trade mark in comparative advertising campaign by rival network.
22/5/08 palmer biggs legal attends INTA's annual meeting in Berlin
7/5/08 Case comment: David Murray and Others v Big Pictures (UK) Ltd
Author of Harry Potter novels, acting on behalf of her infant son, takes privacy claim to the Court of Appeal.
26/4/08 palmer biggs legal celebrates World IP day
21/12/07 File sharing and the law
Peer-to-peer sharing of copyright material remains a strong practice, but its legal status is far from certain.
21/12/07 Case comment: Les Editions Albert René v OHIM, Orange A/S.
The Court of First Instance decides whether the trade marks ‘OBELIX’ and ‘MOBILIX’ are sufficiently similar to cause confusion.
21/12/07 Manufacturers of Computer printers not liable for copyright levy
A decision by the Bundesgerichtshof confirms that there is no liability owed to copyright holders by printer manufacturers in respect of printed copies made of copyright works for personal use.
21/12/07 The Continued Demand for Free Online Content
Consumer survey reflects how you feel about illegal downloads!
12/12/07 Sweet War
A dispute has arisen between Cyprus and Turkey over the ownership of the trade mark in ‘Turkish Delight’.
11/12/07 Violation of integrity of a work of engineering
Spanish court finds in favour of the public interest in a moral rights dispute
1/12/07 US movie studios sue Chinese online cinema
Movie Studios bring copyright infringement case against a website and internet café.
27/11/07 Case comment: Gateway Inc v Fujitsu Siemens
Fujitsu Siemens wins case against Gateway Inc; held no likelihood of confusion.
20/11/07 Chewy Vuiton?
Louis Vuitton fails to convince US Circuit Court of Appeal of trade mark infringement
10/11/07 Wonderbra infringes copyright in gorilla spoof advertisement
Wonderbra’s gorilla marketing campaign is thwarted!
2/11/07 Plans to roll out mediation court scheme nationwide.
A nationwide extension to a pilot mediation scheme risks jeopardising the progress made in alternative dispute resolution.
23/10/07 Powers of Information Retrieval may be blocked by EU law
The opinion of an Advocate General could have repercussions on the ability of copyright owners to tackle the problem of illegal downloading
10/10/07 Case Comment: Procter & Gamble Company v Reckitt Benckiser (UK) Ltd [2007] EWCA Civ 936
The Court of Appeal decides on whether the design right in an air freshener canister had been infringed.
28/9/07 Proposed Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) Default Transfer process
Nominet announces procedural changes with reference to domain name disputes.
25/9/07 Changes on the horizon for UK Domain Name Dispute Rules
Nominet asserts that .uk domain name registry rule book is out of date & should be revised.
13/9/07 DotMobi to auction premium mobile domain names
Internet development company auctions a number of highly desirable domain names
11/9/07 Case Comment: Céline Sarl v Céline SA Case c-17/06
Céline SA goes to ECJ relying on
10/9/07 Legal Battle over 10,000 .eu domain names to come to a head in September
ECJ to decide if one woman loses 10,000 domain names...
4/9/07 Relative grounds no longer an automatic block on registering a trade mark
Changes to the Trade Mark Act 1994 make important modifications to the system of notification in the event of a relative ground for refusal being discovered.
29/5/07 palmer biggs legal attends INTA in Chicago
palmer biggs legal involved in an important global intellectual property event.
1/5/07 Registerfly.com threatened with ICANN shutdown
ICANN issues statement of intent to Registerfly.com in relation to alleged malpractice
20/3/07 BPI wins damages from CD WOW!
Online music retailer found to infringe copyright through parallel imports
19/3/07 The Patent Office to change its name to UK Intellectual Property Office
Changes clarify the responsibilities of the body responsible for intellectual property in the UK.
2/3/07 Implementation table for Companies Act 2006 announced
Legislative changes will allow any individual to seek adjudication on the use of a company name which conflicts with a pre existing name.
26/2/07 Case comment: Point Solutions Ltd v Focus Business Solutions Ltd [2006] EWCA Civ 14
Court of Appeal reaches an inconclusive verdict on a dispute between two software houses because of a lack of access to the allegedly infringed material
22/2/07 Dispute over the use of the ‘iPhone’ trade mark is resolved
Apple and Cisco systems reach a compromise over trade mark use of 'iPhone'
22/2/07 Government increases funding to fight copyright infringement
Increased funding and additional statutory powers to tackle copyright infringement.
28/1/07 Metropolitan Police struggling with cyber crime
New report indicates the extent of the problem of tackling cyber crime
26/1/07 Case Comment: Independiente Ltd v Music Trading Online (HK) Ltd [2007] EWCA Civ 111
Undertakings to court can create contractual obligations
19/1/07 Director’s duties under the Companies Act 2006
Company Directors duties codified.
18/1/07 How is the strength of a brand measured?
Study offers insight into the world’s most influential and dominant brands.
12/1/07 Case comment: Special Effects Ltd v L’Oreal [2007] EWCA Civ 1
High Court decision that would have had serious ramifications on trade mark opposition and infringement litigation is overturned on appeal.
4/1/07 Changes to the information required on Company letterheads and on Company websites
Companies Letterheads/Websites mandatory info changed by first company law directive.
12/9/06 The legal regulation of the internet: a trade mark perspective
The ‘One in a Million’ case evidences the increasing risks brought about by the internet to trade mark protection.
7/4/06 Case Comment: Baigent v Random House Group Ltd [2006] EWHC 719
The Court of Appeal decides whether the successful novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’ infringed the copyright of a previous publication.
10/3/06 Case Comment: Mastercigars Direct Ltd v Hunters & Frankau Ltd and Others [2007] EWCA Civ 176
The Court of Appeal endorses a broad approach to the issue of consent where parallel importation is concerned.
4/12/05 Case Comment: Richard Dearlove v Sean Combs
High Court holds that the use of "Diddy" in web pages and lyrics was for advertising purposes