With brexited UK announcing that it will not join Europe’s long-awaited Unified Patent Court (UPC), the establishment of an efficient pan-European patent litigation system faces ever-mounting challenges. Last Friday, the...more
In principle, patents confer protection for a maximum of 20 years. In Europe, however, the patent terms for pharmaceutical products that meet the conditions necessary for supplementary protection certificates (“SPC”) can be...more
The EU General Court (“Court”) reduced the fines imposed on Servier SAS and its subsidiaries (“Servier”) from a total of €428 million to €315 million (see press release no. 194/18), thereby partially annulling a European...more
The United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019 (“Exit Date”). With Brexit fast approaching, on 25 November 2018 the EU and the UK announced their consensus on a withdrawal agreement that sets out the...more
ICT standardization is a key part of the European Union’s package of measures designed to improve Europe’s competitiveness and productivity. As part of the EU’s Digital Single Market (DSM) initiative, the European Commission...more
Progress is being made regarding the protection of intellectual property (“IP”) rights in a post-BREXIT scenario on both sides of the English Channel. With BREXIT fast approaching, the European Union (“EU”) and the United...more
Progress is being made regarding the protection of intellectual property (“IP”) rights in a post-BREXIT scenario on both sides of the English Channel. With BREXIT fast approaching, the European Union (“EU”) and the United...more
Today, July 25, 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has issued its much awaited decision on the classification of genome-editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9, Talen or zinc finger within the framework of...more
The EU Trade Secrets Directive, officially titled “Directive (EU) 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure” (the...more
In both the U.S. and the EU, it is generally acknowledged that the enforcement and commercialization of IP rights must comply with the applicable antitrust laws. This is particularly true for IP licensing. While the majority...more
Supreme Court Hits Reset on Patent Venue Law in TC Heartland -
In the recent TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC decision, the Supreme Court reversed nearly thirty years of patent venue law and held that a...more
7/20/2017
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Forum Shopping ,
Free Speech ,
Patent Exhaustion ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Right of Publicity ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Incorporation ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
The Slants ,
Trademarks ,
Unified Patent Court ,
Venue
Supreme Court Restricts the Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Patent Law for Exported Goods -
On February 22, 2017, the Supreme Court in a landmark decision held that the supply of a single component of a multicomponent...more
4/10/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Co-Ownership ,
Component Parts Doctrine ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Fashion Design ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Germany ,
Grace Period ,
Graphic Designs ,
Laches ,
Life Technologies Corp v Promega Corp ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
Statutory Damages ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniforms
Supreme Court Abolished Federal Circuit's Test for Willfulness -
On June 13, 2016, in Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc., 579 U.S. ___ (2016), the Supreme Court unanimously abrogated the Federal Circuit’s...more
8/13/2016
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Authorship ,
Books ,
Burden of Proof ,
Collaboration ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Employee Mobility ,
Enhanced Damages ,
EU ,
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ,
European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Film Industry ,
Halo v Pulse ,
Harmonization Rules ,
Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons ,
Objective Unreasonableness Standard ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Screenplays ,
Seagate ,
Standard of Review ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unlawful Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
Willful Infringement
A harmonized trade secrets protection regime is coming to Europe and the US. Until now, there has been a fragmented approach to trade secrets across Europe, with some countries having specific trade secrets legislation and...more
The Survey Says: Tiffany Is Not Generic for A Ring Setting -
Last month, the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment to Tiffany & Co. on its trademark infringement claim against Costco Wholesale...more
10/8/2015
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Abuse of Process ,
America Invents Act ,
Apple v Samsung ,
China ,
Costco ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Covered Business Method Proceedings ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Fair Use ,
FRAND ,
Germany ,
Hedge Funds ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
IP License ,
Judicial Review ,
Microsoft ,
Monopolization ,
Motion for Sanctions ,
Motorola ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Penalties ,
SAIC ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tiffany and Company ,
USPTO ,
Versata
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered its highly anticipated ruling in Huawei v. ZTE on the enforcement of standard essential patents (SEPs) which are subject to a FRAND commitment. SEPs play a significant role in the...more
7/28/2015
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Apple ,
Apple v Samsung ,
Damages ,
ETSI ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
FRAND ,
Germany ,
Good Faith ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
License Agreements ,
Microsoft ,
Motorola ,
Orange Book ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Royalties ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Samsung ,
Smartphones ,
Standard Essential Patents
IP Pitfalls in Tech M&A Transactions -
Technology and IP-driven deals accounted for over 30 percent of M&A deal volume in Europe in 2014. This trend is bound to continue, with many deals involving strategic or financial...more
7/22/2015
/ Apple ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Co-Ownership ,
Copyright ,
Discovery ,
Documentation ,
Due Diligence ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer-Owned Intellectual Property ,
EU ,
Exceptions ,
FedEx ,
Foreign Investment ,
Germany ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Insolvency ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inventions ,
Inventors ,
Licensees ,
Microsoft ,
Nokia ,
Opt-In ,
Opt-Outs ,
Privilege Waivers ,
Remuneration ,
Representations and Warranties ,
Revenue Sharing ,
TRIPS Agreement ,
Unitary Patent