Insights

Software is a relative new-comer to the patent arena. Over the last few decades, government patent offices have struggled to decide how to deal with software patents. There is a widely-held view that software simply can’t be patented, particularly in Europe. Fortunately, this is not at all correct: the right type of software innovation can most certainly be patented in all the world’s major patent offices.

I admit I did not. It’s Dutch model Maartje Robin Elke Verhoef and, apart from being very beautiful, of course, she contributed to further clarify European trade mark law, by giving the EUIPO`s Fourth Board of Appeal the opportunity to decide on the registrability of a portrait photograph as a trade mark (Case R 2063/2016-4).

My article last month (here) highlighted the legal and financial benefits that registered trade mark protection can provide to football clubs, particularly those in the Premiership. The benefits are not, however, limited to the clubs. Over recent years, individual players have been getting in on the act, obtaining registered protection for their names and thus opening the door to lucrative personal merchandising and sponsorship opportunities. Argentina and Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi, is one such player.

Xiaomi, the world’s fourth largest smartphone manufacturer and a major client of Dehns, made two significant strategic announcements last week:

• An IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, seeking to raise c.$10bn (c.£7.3bn / c.€8.3bn)
• Sales of their smartphones will commence in the UK through a partnership with Hutchinson’s Three

Apple has built its success on innovative products. It has sought to protect this innovation through patents and registered designs. Apple is no stranger to asserting its patents and designs against its competitors but it is also regularly on the receiving end of third parties asserting their patents.

Luxury goods brand and fashion house Christian Dior recently enjoyed a favourable trade mark decision before the Supreme People’s Court of China (SPC).

Yesterday I attended LSPN’s spring North America meeting, and what a stimulating and valuable event it was. Gathered together was a formidable line up of in-house counsel and private practitioners with the aim of sharing knowledge and insights into the most important issues currently facing the protection of IP in the life science field.

When is a product “protected” by a basic patent for the purpose of Article 3(a) of the SPC Regulation? This question has kept the courts busy for years and has given rise to various referrals to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), as explained.

In a speech to mark World IP Day, the British Government’s IP Minister, Sam Gyimah, announced that the UK has ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court.

This time last week I had the privilege of attending the 5th Biennial Biosimilars and Biobetters Congress in London. The conference really highlighted for me the importance of such conferences! There are so many different aspects to the biosimilar/biobetter industry –including basic product development, optimisation of manufacturing processes, patents, regulatory laws and pricing/tendering/marketing. Each of these individual aspects are highly technical and it can be hard work just keeping up with developments in your own area. It is even harder to get a good overview of developments in other areas – and so having a conference which brings together experts in all of these fields must be beneficial to all.