25th Aug 2020
We consider invalidity decisions issued by the EUIPO during the second quarter of 2020, from 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020. Registered Community designs (RCDs) protect the shape and appearance of new products across the whole of the EU. Since national court decisions on RCDs are rare, decisions by the EUIPO’s Invalidity Division help us to understand how the validity of an RCD is interpreted.
27th May 2020
This blog covers invalidity decisions issued by the EUIPO during the first quarter of 2020, from 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2020. Our previous blog covering the decisions issued during the fourth quarter of 2019 can be found here.Registered Community designs (RCDs) protect the shape and appearance of new products across the whole of the EU. Since national court decisions on RCDs are rare, decisions by the EUIPO’s Invalidity Division help us to understand how the validity of an RCD is interpreted.
11th Feb 2020
Registered Community designs (RCDs) protect the shape and appearance of new products across the whole of the EU. However, RCDs only came into effect on 1 April 2003, which means that the body of case law concerning aspects of RCDs such as individual character is still developing. Since national court decisions on RCDs are rare, decisions by the EUIPO’s Invalidity Division provide a valuable source of information on how the validity of an RCD is interpreted. This blog covers invalidity decisions issued by the EUIPO during the fourth quarter of 2019, from 1 October 2019 to 31 December 2019. Our previous blog covering the third quarter of 2019 can be found here.
31st Jan 2020
So, it’s finally happening. At 11pm (UK time) tonight, 31 January 2020, the UK is leaving the EU – whether or not Big Ben bongs to ring out the changes. And what changes will there be on the IP front? The short answer, in the short term, is: absolutely none. EU law will continue to operate in the UK during the transition period, exactly as it currently does. The transition period will be from 1 February 2020 – 31 December 2020 unless an extension is obtained, which the Prime Minister has promised will not happen. The IP system will therefore continue as it currently does in the UK and the EU until at least the end of this year, without any disruption or changes.
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.
30th Oct 2019
This is the first blog in a new regular series summarising some of the new case law concerning registered Community designs. This blog covers invalidity decisions issued by the EUIPO during the third quarter of 2019, from 1 July 2019 to 30 September 2019.
9th Oct 2019
In order for a Registered Community Design to be valid, the design shown in the RCD must be novel over all prior designs that have been made available to the public before the earliest filing date of the RCD application. However, there are cases where it can be commercially advantageous to invalidate a Registered Community Deign – so how can you go about this?