News

Further to our announcement that the UKIPO were considering introducing some new fees and altering some existing fees, it has recently been confirmed that the proposed patent fee changes will go ahead on 6 April 2018. Pre-grant and Grant Fees   Fee   before 6 Apr 2018 (£) from 6 Apr 2018 (£) Application fee… Read more »

An exhibition by Bosch (in September 2017) demonstrated a variety of innovative solutions that use automated and connected technologies to address the issue of moving a rapidly increasing number of people around our cities safely and in a sustainable manner. Bosch Connected Car Taking centre stage in the event arena was the Bosch Connected Car… Read more »

The majority of commercial fuels are manufactured from oil and gas based petrochemical feedstocks. However, following the announcement that the UK intends to ban the sale of new cars powered solely by either petrol or diesel fuel by 2040 (and with similar bans announced, to date, by France and China), the race is on to… Read more »

Auto suggestion by use of BMW The BMW vs Technosport[1] case arose from the unauthorised use of BMW’s trade marks in the UK by an independent repair services provider, Technosport. The case before the court While BMW succeeded on most grounds in the initial infringement case, its appeal concerned mainly the issue of use of… Read more »

Ferrari S.p.A (Ferrari) may be facing loss of the registration of its legendary TESTAROSSA trade mark for its iconic sports car in Germany. The trade mark was used by Ferrari during the mid-1980s to mid-1990s for its sought after sports cars featured in the TV series Miami Vice and popularised by celebrity fans. Production of… Read more »

Friday (24 November 2017) marked the first anniversary since the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys signed their Royal Charter to establish themselves as The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys. In the same week, they also celebrated their 83rd birthday. A ‘Royal Charter’ is ‘reserved for eminent professional bodies or charities which have a solid… Read more »

The European Patent Office management has put forward a proposal to reduce its fees. If adopted by the Member States of the European Patent Organisation in December, the PCT search fee and the examination fee will be reduced by €100 each. Additionally, the 50% reduction of the EPO’s examination fee that already applies to applications… Read more »

Recent governmental report on the UK Life Sciences Sector A report to the UK government[1] has recently published, with the aim of bringing into focus the next 20 years of UK government policy in the ‘health life sciences’ sector. In the context of the report, ‘health life sciences’ refers to the application of biology and… Read more »

Pictured above: CIPA delegates meet IPTA council members Partner Mike Jennings has now returned from the AIPPI’s World Congress in Sydney. Whilst there, Mike contributed to the work of the AIPPI’s international study committee focussing on the need for harmonization of national laws relating to the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, including computer programs. After a… Read more »

The EPO updates the Guidelines for Examination annually and this years’ revised edition comes into effect from 1 November 2017.  The following is a brief outline of the changes. Oral Proceedings Perhaps the most key change is regarding oral proceedings.  Examiners can now issue a summons to attend oral proceedings as a first office action… Read more »