29th Nov 2019
Registered Community designs (RCDs) and registered UK designs are used to protect the design of the shape and appearance of the whole or part of a new product. This article looks at a practical, real-life example of how a company has used registered designs to protect the design of a new product.
22nd Nov 2019
The European Patent office (EPO) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) have recently announced an agreement to give patent applicants filing an international patent application, in English, at the CNIPA as receiving office, the choice to opt for the EPO as their International Searching Authority (ISA). It is currently expected that this new option will be introduced sometime in 2020, and be implemented as a two-year pilot programme.
19th Nov 2019
Consumer outrage against e-retailer Backcountry.com illustrates the risks of taking an overly aggressive approach to the enforcement of trade mark rights, particularly where the mark in question is arguably quite descriptive.
15th Nov 2019
A recent decision of the UK IPO demonstrates the importance of filing evidence of reputation, if available, as well as sufficient evidence of use when an opposition relies on a mark which has been registered for more than 5 years.
15th Nov 2019
October was a bad month for shapes. Not only did the General Court confirm the cancellation Seven Town’s EU Trade Mark Registration for the 3D shape of its mind-boggling ‘Rubik’s Cube’ toy, the EUIPO’s Cancellation Division also declared Gibson Brands, Inc.’s Registration for a 2D depiction of the shape of its ‘Firebird’ or ‘Thunderbird’ guitars partially invalid.
6th Nov 2019
The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is a subsection of the more well-known Internet of Things. Broadly, the IoMT is a connected infrastructure of medical devices, software applications, and health systems and services. This infrastructure aims to improve accessibility of healthcare, while improving patient health and satisfaction with healthcare services. In 2016, it was predicted that by the year 2020, 40% of IoT technology will be health related1 (more than any other subsection). It has also been predicted that by 2022, the IoMT market will be worth roughly US$158 billion2, compared to a comparatively measly US$24 billion in 20163. We at Reddie & Grose have been closely following the progress of the IoMT which encompasses many rapidly advancing technologies and a number of potentially patentable areas.
5th Nov 2019
“European SMEs generally make effective use of European patents to protect their key inventions, and successfully commercialise up to two thirds of them”, according to a new study published by the European Patent Office (EPO). However, serious challenges remain, ranging from a lack of IP expertise and resources available to SMEs, to the need for more contacts to support their commercialisation efforts across Europe.
1st Nov 2019
Google has reached an important landmark in quantum computing: a quantum computer that can solve a problem that a classical computer would not be able to solve in any practical timeframe. As published in the science journal Nature, Google reports that its latest quantum computing chip was able to perform a calculation in 200 seconds that would have taken a classical supercomputer 10,000 years to complete.