News

Patenting Artificial Intelligence – CIPA’s Computer Technology Committee Training   CIPA’s Computer Technology Committee provided an excellent update on ‘Computers and IP’ on 22 November in London, including contributions from AA Thornton partner Mike Jennings who chaired a panel discussing patentability of artificial intelligence. The panel focussed on the many technical applications of machine learning… Read more »

  The Legal 500 2019 edition has now been published and we are delighted that the firm has once again been ranked as a leading firm for both patents and trade marks, and that our level of service was recognised, once again, as “outstanding”:  “The ‘excellent’ A.A. Thornton & Co. ‘goes the extra mile to provide outstanding customer service’ and has… Read more »

Brexit: EU Trade Marks and Community Designs, including if there is ‘no deal’   What is the current situation? The UK is to leave the EU (“Brexit”) on 29 March 2019.  When Brexit becomes fully effective, EU unitary trade mark registrations (“EUTMs”) and registered Community designs (“RCDs”) will cease to have effect in the UK,… Read more »

The partners of AA Thornton are very pleased to announce that Alex Bone, Sarah Darby, Nikesh Patel, Dr Marianne Privett and Nick South have become Partners of the firm as from September 2018. All are extremely experienced attorneys, and valued members of their patent and trade marks teams. Alex is a patent attorney in our… Read more »

Raytheon Company awarded milestone US Patent No.10,000,000 On the 19th June 2018, the United States Patent and Trade Mark Office (USPTO)  issued US. Patent No. 10,000,000.  Since the USPTO was created in 1790, it has effectively taken 228 years for this milestone to have been reached.  Although this patent is not the ten millionth patent… Read more »

Careers in Ideas launch event Associate Patent Attorney Chris Burnett reflects on the launch of Careers In Ideas, and the work ahead to raise awareness of IP with students. “On 10 April 2018, a crowd of over 100 IP professionals, careers experts and students gathered at the Royal Society of Medicine for the launch of… Read more »

The EPO recently announced three fee reducing measures, which came into force on 1 April 2018. The EPO will not be adjusting fees due to inflation for the period 2018-2020 (typically there is a biennial inflation-based adjustment of fees) PCT search and examination fees are reduced by EUR100 The discount on examination fees for applications… Read more »

The UK has now deposited its instrument of ratification of the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court (UPCA) with the European Commission in Brussels, thereby completing the legal necessities for the UK to take part in the Court. The UK became a signatory to the UPCA in February 2013 and, in November 2016, committed to… Read more »

Each year on the 26th April, we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day, to remind ourselves how intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright) encourage innovation and creativity. This year’s World Intellectual Property Day campaign celebrates the brilliance, ingenuity, curiosity and courage of the women who are driving change in our world and shaping our… Read more »

In March 2018 the General Court held that the Registered Community Design No 257001-0001 owned by Crocs, Inc was invalid as it was lacking in novelty on the basis of prior disclosures of its design. A proprietor of a Registered Community Design (RCD) right has a 25 year monopoly on its design which gives them… Read more »