"Caroline Pigott has joined the HGF Scottish team. She is dual qualified as a Scottish IP Solicitor and a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney and will be based in Edinburgh. Caroline will be looking to boost the firm’s trade mark presence in the region. Caroline’s  appointment follows another year of exceptional growth...

"HGF Ltd is delighted to announce that from the 1st of May 2020, Dr Jamie Thomson based in the Edinburgh office and Dr Nienke Lubben based in the York office have been promoted to Partner, increasing the Partner group to 63 Partners.

Paul Sanderson, CEO commented, “It is my pleasure to announce that Jamie and...

Trade mark law - The General Court did not err in law in finding that on the date on which the application for registration of the contested Gugler Community trade mark was filed, an economic link existed between Gugler France and Gugler GmbH (which precluded the finding of a likelihood of confusion): in CJEU Schweppes...

Case C-133/20: European Pallet Association v PHZ. Preliminary questions Hoge Raad – Netherlands.

Via gov.co.uk. Preliminary questions: “1.

(a) Does successful recourse to Article 13(2) of the CTM Regulation require that the further commercialisation of the branded products concerned adversely affect or...

Case: C-123/20: Ferrari. Preliminary questions Bundesgerichtshof – Germany.

Design Law. Gov.co.uk: “The following questions are referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of Article 11(1) and the first sentence of Article 11(2), as well as of Article 4...

Litigation - Case C-264/19: Constantin Film Verleih v Youtube and Google. Opinion A-G Saugmandsgaard Øe.

The dispute concerns the refusal by YouTube and Google to provide certain information required by Constantin Film Verleih with regard to users who have placed several films online in breach of Constantin...

Competition law - Article 101 TFEU. To assess whether a manufacturer of generic medicines that is not present in the market is a potential competitor of a manufacturer of originator medicines when the agreement at issue has the effect of temporarily keeping an undertaking outside a market first it must be determined...

PetaPixel: “Earlier today, the Supreme Court of the United States dealt a major blow to photographers’ copyright protections when it declared that states cannot be sued for copyright infringement because they have “sovereign immunity.”

The opinion came down as part of a writ of certiorari regarding the case of ...

New York Times: “Israel approved the licensing of a generic version of an HIV drug to treat patients infected with the coronavirus on Thursday, despite doubts about its effectiveness in trials.

The anti-viral drug Kaletra, produced by AbbVie Inc, could be a possible treatment for COVID-19, Israel's Health...

Press release Bundesverfassungsgericht: "The Act of Approval to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (“the Act of Approval”) to confer sovereign powers on the Unified Patent Court is void. In its outcome, it amends the Constitution in substantive terms, though it has not been approved by the Bundestag with the...

Léon Dijkman, IPKat: "This morning, the German constitutional court issued a 86-page decision in which it upholds the constitutional complaint against the German ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court [decision here]. According to the Court, the German act by which it was to accede to the UPC Agreement...

Press release: "HGF are pleased to announce further expansion with the arrival of Nick Manley who joins the HGF Manchester office as a Partner on March 17th, 2020.

Nick advises clients of all types, including start-up companies, universities, SMEs and large multinational organisations. Nick has particular...

Trade Mark Law - The General Court erred in law by rejecting an opposition brought under Article 8(5) of the Union Trade Mark Regulation on the ground that there was no evidence of a reduction in the 'attractiveness' of the earlier marks: the article ensures protection for (i) detriment to the distinctive character of...

NBCNews - "Led Zeppelin prevailed in a long-running copyright dispute after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict saying the rock band's 1971 megahit "Stairway to Heaven" did not illegally borrow from Spirit's 1968 track "Taurus." "The trial and appeal process has been a long climb up the...

Trade mark law - CJEU Press Release: “By today’s judgment, the Court sets aside the judgment of the General Court and annuls the decision of EUIPO, both of which are broadly vitiated by the same errors. EUIPO must therefore give a fresh decision on the application for registration made by Constantin Film.

Accor...

IAM: "The UK will not be a member of the Unified Patent Court system, the UK government has confirmed to IAM. In an email sent this evening, a spokesperson stated: “I can confirm that the UK will not be seeking involvement in the UP/UPC system. Participating in a court that applies EU law and bound by the CJEU is...

"Trade Mark Attorney and European Trade Mark Attorney will join our Manchester office and Kerry Rees a European and UK Patent Attorney will join our London office as Partners on 24th February 2020. 

Kerry is a Patent Attorney with considerable experience drafting new applications, prosecuting applications in...

European Commission: "The European Commission has launched a call for tenders for a study on copyright and new technologies. The time limit for receipt of tenders is 03/04/2020 16:00 hours CET (study reference: SMART 2019/0038).

The aim of the study is to help European creative industries unleash the potential...

Patent Strategy: "The EPO’s justification for refusing a patent application that had an artificial intelligence tool listed as the inventor does not provide enough clarity on the rules surrounding AI-generated inventions, according to in-house and private practice IP lawyers.

[...]

As one of the reasons...

Trade Mark Law - Geographical Indications - The Copyright Directive must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation which establishes, as regards the exploitation of audiovisual archives by a body set up for that purpose, a rebuttable presumption that the performer has authorised the fixation and...