News

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 »

CPA Global have featured in the IP news streams recently because of allegations of overcharging, and this includes a case brought against CPA Global in the “Run Them Sweet” class action. CPA Global categorically and emphatically denies any wrong doing and they state: “The issues at the core of the Run Them Sweet complaint were… Read more »

After a period of consultation, the UKIPO and UK government have announced some patent fee changes that are expected to come into effect on 6 April 2018. Application fee Currently £30 for paper applications and £20 for an e-filing Rising to £90 for paper applications and £60 for an e-filing New surcharge of 25% if… Read more »

The Legal 500 2017 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 as “outstanding”. The editorial sections for each of our entries in the directory are reproduced below:… Read more »