Automotive & Aerospace

The Carbon Car Carbon materials are prized for their strength, low density and chemical resilience. The diverse utility of carbon materials has seen them employed in the field of vehicles since the early days of large scale commercial automobile manufacture in the early 1900s. Despite over 100 years of use, few present day drivers are… Read more »

Picture from: http://www.freevalve.com/ Fuel efficiency and power have long been key areas of automotive development. Recently the high profile advances in this area have related to hybrid powertrains and a move to all electric vehicles. New developments in these areas regularly feature in new patent filing figures. A significant new development for a well-established technology like… Read more »

Engineering and electronics manufacturer Bosch recently set out details of how its products are helping hospitals to become ‘smarter’ in the way they provide their services and manage their valuable medical equipment [www.bosch-presse.de/pressportal/de/en/bosch-is-making-hospitals-smart-128448.html]. A longstanding client of A.A. Thornton & Co., Bosch is a household name for consumers in the areas of power tools and… 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 »

The Continental vs Michelin[1] appeal at the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU), decided a few months ago arose from an opposition by Michelin to Continental’s European Union Trade Mark Application for the registration of  in relation to ‘Tyres; Inner tubes for tyres’. Michelin relied, inter alia, on its earlier French trade mark… Read more »

Automotive manufacturer Continental recently announced an innovative new integrated wheel and brake system designed specifically for electric vehicles. http://www.continentaltire.com/news/continental-introduces-innovative-wheel-and-braking-concept-electric-vehicles Braking inside out The new design consists of two main parts; a “carrier star” and a “rim well”. The rim and carrier star bolt together to form the wheel and the carrier star attaches to the… Read more »

Introduction Intellectual Property services typically rely on quality of client service to maintain their commercial edge. Nevertheless, the IP sector as a whole could stand to learn much from the best practice approaches adopted by many of the large industrial sectors it services. The International Organisation for Standardisation has begun to apply quality management practices… Read more »