Automotive & Aerospace

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 »

3D marks – Shaping up for the New Year! The classic Volkswagen (VW) camper van is everywhere these days, its image adorning anything from clothing, tea towels and bedlinen to coffee mugs, fold out chairs and beach windbreaks.  Many a time the VW badge will be replaced with some other circular motif, often a peace… Read more »

Recent progress towards Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court Europe’s long-awaited Unified Patent Court and the European Union’s Unitary Patent could (and even should) both be available before the end of 2022. Even if there is a short delay, the UPC is almost certain to be open for business in late 2022 or early 2023…. Read more »

Deadline approaching for the Government R&D Tax Credits Consultation – your input needed for potential changes to RDEC and SME R&D Relief Government R&D Tax Credits Consultation: The UK government intends to raise investment in research and development to 2.4% of UK GDP by 2027 and wants to ensure that one of the key incentives for… Read more »

Trade mark rights IN THE RED! Automotive team member, Rachel Havard considers the CJEU’s recent judgement on genuine use of Ferrari’s TESTAROSSA trade mark.   The concept of “use it or lose it” We all probably need a bit of nostalgia in our lives, more than we ever did, and brand names/trade marks play a… Read more »

Automotive team member, Rachel Havard considers the rise of the Ineos Grenadier and Jaguar Land Rover’s attempt to register their Defender shape as a UK trade mark   Ben Fogle in The Telegraph – “It is said that for more than half the world’s population, the first car they remember having seen is a Land… Read more »

Financial Times names AA Thornton one of Europe’s leading Patent Law Firm’s 2020 We are delighted to have been named by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s Leading Patent Law Firms for 2020. We would like to thank our clients and peers who gave feedback in relation to our inclusion in this list. If you… Read more »

Legal update – UK IPO coronavirus response In recognition of the challenges individuals and businesses are facing amidst the coronavirus outbreak, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) has made certain temporary adjustments to its practices, to ensure that parties are not adversely affected in their dealings with the Office. It has also had to… Read more »

Artificial Intelligence – Our March 2020 report According to the European Patent Office, for the first time in more than a decade, digital technologies have taken the lead in patent applications filed. Among the top technical fields digital communication (+19.6%) and computer technology (+10.2%) saw the steepest growth. The report, published on the 12th March… Read more »

Automotive team member Stuart Greenwood highlights how the UK-based F1 teams are joining forces to assess whether they can combine their expertise in design, rapid prototyping, and high value manufacturing and production, to produce medical devices to help in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. More than 60 manufacturers have been asked to make up to… Read more »