News

In the recent case of Shazam v Only Fools The Dining Experience and Others [2022] EWHC 1379 (IPEC) the IPEC ruled that copyright could subsist in a fictional character considered a ‘literary work’ under UK copyright law. The case concerned the character Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter from the long-running TV series Only Fools and Horses… Read more »

We wish to thank our clients once again for the positive feedback. You have put our patent practice at the top of Legal500 rankings for 2022 as well as  recommending us for various awards. This week saw publication of the report ‘IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals 2022’ in which Dr Craig… Read more »

Amendments to the Patent Description: To what extent? The recent decision by the European Patent Office (EPO)’s Technical Board of Appeal 1024/18 implies the EPO is likely to be very strict with amendments of the description to be consistent with the subject matter of the allowed claims. It has long been the practice by the… Read more »

EPO releases findings of survey on grace period for patents On 17 June 2022, the EPO reported the results of a survey conducted last winter to understand the impact of the novelty requirements of the European Patent Convention (EPC) on its users. In particular, the survey focused on the lack of a “grace period” under… Read more »

Even if your name is as famous as Ronaldinho, the UK IPO cannot raise ex officio bad faith objections This article was written by Sarah for the IPKat legal blog. Mr Geoffrey Hobbs QC, sitting as the Appointed Person, assessed the legal competence of the UK IPO to raise bad faith as a ground of… Read more »

The Agri-Tech Centres and their contribution to the UK’s net-zero initiative The advent of COVID-19 brought about a lot of change—some welcome (showcasing your new Zoom background) and some less welcome (not knowing how to stop showcasing your new Zoom background)—but perhaps one of the more profound changes has been a newfound appreciation for the… Read more »

A.A. Thornton & Co conversion to AA Thornton IP LLP We are delighted to share that, on 1 April 2022, A.A. Thornton & Co (“the Partnership”) converted from a partnership, under the Partnership Act 1890, to AA Thornton IP LLP (“the LLP”).   What this means for us Limited liability partnerships are a favoured structure amongst… Read more »

EPO 2022 fee increases The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced a rise in many of its official fees to take effect from 1st April 2022. The announcement, published with full details of the new fees in the EPO Official Journal in January 2022, follows the Decision of the Administrative Council of 15th December 2021… Read more »

AA Thornton welcomes its first Non-Executive Director We are delighted to announce that, as part of the firm’s commitment to a significant growth strategy, the partners of AA Thornton are welcoming Jeremy Horner as the firm’s first Non-Executive Director. Jeremy is a Chartered Accountant and experienced Non-Executive Director as well as a member of the… Read more »

Mike Jennings and Michael Piper CLE paper for AIPLA’s annual meeting – see here: A practial update on patenting computer implemented inventions with a preview for 2022