Latest Insights

IRONMAN records smashed Ironman?  Superman.   7 and 8 hour male and female IRONMAN barriers smashed in an astonishing display of athletic endurance. Patent Attorney and keen “endurance eventer” Stuart Greenwood dives into the world of IRONMAN to report on the breaking of the latest seemingly unbreakable athletic barrier and the technology that helped make it possible…. Read more »

The IP Space Greetings Earthlings…!…  Welcome to this new series of short articles reporting on the latest challenges and successes in the Space Industry.  These will be regular updates, posted every couple of weeks or so, primarily aimed at bringing you quickly up to speed with some of the most recent and significant technical developments… Read more »

Event report: NPD Food and Drink Trends and Innovations conference Retail and Clean Tech team member Sarah Neil reports on the hot topics in food and drink following the recent Food & Drink Trends and Innovations conference. It was great to be back at this event following a two year hiatus. There was a general… Read more »

Litigation by STEALTH not permitted by Court of Appeal Introduction It is not uncommon for trade mark owners to purchase old, and unused, trade mark registrations as part of their commercial IP strategy, but what happens when a party acquires a right during the course of litigation and deliberately conceals the fact it has done… Read more »

Concrete and its devastating impact on the environment When people consider what is the most consumed product on earth, few would consider concrete. In fact, concrete is the second most consumed product on Earth, second to water1. It is used as the foundation for most of our modern building infrastructure – houses, tower blocks, roads… Read more »

Making Walking Greener with Intellectual Property The recent pandemic has changed the daily commute for many from a time consuming journey to the office using a car, train and / or bike into a slipper-clad wander from kitchen to study (or makeshift bedroom office).  Hopefully those that can will continue to use their feet to… Read more »

Our Evolving Relationship with Plastic We have a complex relationship with plastic. Plastic has long been viewed as a ‘wonder material’ due to its useful durability, moldability, and low cost.  The commercialisation of plastic products began in the early 1900s with the invention of Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride which will be known by many as Bakelite. The method… Read more »

Ed Sheeran Granted Declaration of Non-Infringement in “Shape of You” copyright case Ed Sheeran has successfully defended a claim for copyright infringement for his song “Shape of You” and was granted a declaration of non-infringement of copyright (Sheeran v Chokri [2022] EWHC 827 (CH)).   Background The song “Shape of You”, which Ed Sheeran co-wrote… Read more »

Freedom to Operate – Understanding the risks   There are many factors to be considered for a project developing a new product or process, but Freedom to Operate should not be overlooked. What is Freedom to Operate? Freedom to Operate, or “FTO”, is the ability to carry out commercial plans without infringing third party Intellectual… Read more »

Ongoing UK Involvement In The UPC The UPC is not relevant in the UK anymore, right?  Wrong. Following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union there has been a subsequent UK withdrawal from the UPC.  On 20 July 2020 the UK deposited a notification of the withdrawal of its ratification of the UPC Agreement meaning… Read more »