In July 2019 the UAE Trade Mark Office announced a significant reduction in its official fees for the registration and renewal of trade marks. April 2020 now sees further official fee reductions put in place. These not only affect official filing, prosecution and register maintenance fees. In an important move that will surely be welcomed by brand owners, opposition fees have been reviewed this time, and reduced by 25%, making trade mark enforcement in the UAE more affordable.
Despite not being able to go into the office at the moment, we are grateful we have been able to continue “as normal”, at least in the business sense. Thank you to our wonderful clients and suppliers for working with us in these uncertain times. Using technology, we’re all still connected and will work through this together.
For the first time ever, it's not the US that's filed more international patent applications than any other country. In 2019, China topped the chart. Does this indicate a shift in the centre of gravity for innovation worldwide? Does it indicate that China is taking intellectual property more seriously? Or, given these are figures for international applications rather than domestic ones, is it a consequence of a less globalised outlook? I suspect it's probably a combination of all of the above...
Opportunistic filings relating to the Covid-19 pandemic are rising worldwide. A brief search of the UKIPO and EUIPO registers for "CORONAVIRUS" revealed seven new applications including "KEEP CALM AND CORONA VIRUS ON", "Coronavirus level crazy" and "CORONA VIRUS FREE". All are at examination stage and it remains to be seen whether they will proceed to publication. In China, the Chinese trade mark office rejected more than 300 trade mark applications related to the fight against Coronavirus...
Very good news that, as of 1 April 2020, it is no longer necessary to go through the courts to invalidate or revoke a French trade mark. It is entirely sensible to make use of the existing expertise of the French IP office (INPI) for this purpose, will free up capacity in the courts for other disputes, and will make it easier and cheaper for unused trade marks in particular to be removed from the register. INPI has explicitly stated that it wants the new procedures to have the effect of...
Although I'm currently working from home, with no possibility of travel, let alone long haul travel, in the short/medium term, this news item struck me as interesting. If patents give an indication of future trends it seems that airlines are looking to how they can improve the customer experience - although I think I'd prefer they took some surveys and listened to the results rather than feeding me a sensor that will transmit results influencing when I'm offered a drink/have the lighting...
Great to read this U.S. Chamber of Commerce report confirming the UK’s strong and sophisticated IP environment. Topping the table for “environments for trade marks” ... and just pipped to second spot for IP enforcement!
Many people don't realise that patent and design publications can be a great source of insight into future trends. I have written about this previously in the context of the automotive space. Examples include future technology by Tesla and new model design by BMW. Today we have an example from Apple. A patent application published last week suggests that they are contemplating building wireless charging technology into MacBooks. If it makes it to production, this would allow you to charge...
The EUIPO has issued an alert for a new type of misleading invoice/demand for payment, this time taking the form of a fake EUIPO decision. As with other misleading invoices, rights owners need to be vigilant and ensure they and their colleagues are aware of the scams. If you receive an invoice or demand for payment from a third party do contact your IP advisers to seek further guidance. More information can be found at www.ipo.gov.uk/warning...
This week, the EUIPO and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development published an insightful report on the trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products. Eye-openingly, the report estimates the total value of counterfeit pharmaceuticals traded worldwide to be up to EUR 4.03 billion. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are of course particularly dangerous given the potential impact on the health of individuals taking them. Customs seizure data analysed in the report between 2014 and 2016...
Unfortunately, even in difficult times like these there are those trying to spread "fake news". Currently doing the rounds on social media is a post claiming that COVID-19 was designed and patented by the Pirbright Institute at the bidding of Bill Gates for some nefarious purpose. I hope I don't have to go into a detailed discussion of the veracity of this (it's false, see the article below), but it made me think again that this is an example where patents can be hard to understand for the...
With the world in the midst of a pandemic, it's nice to read about initiatives such as this by J.K. Rowling, which I'm sure will provide a much needed and welcome distraction for many!
Following the UK's "hokey cokey" approach to the European Unified Patent and Unified Patents Court (the UK finally pulled out), the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany has dealt the project another serious blow by finding that the Act of Approval to confer sovereign powers on the Unified Patent Court is void. If not a fatal blow, this significantly delays the project.
The Broad Institute recently saw their CRISPR patent finally revoked before the EPO's Board of Appeal due to lack of priority. Following this decision Broad has requested a number of corrections to the Minutes of Oral Proceedings before the Board of Appeal. The requested changes are considered to be required to reflect a failure of the Board of Appeal to discuss a potential referral to the Enlarged Board of Appeal and appear to be a last-ditch attempt by the Patentee to pave the way for a...
Since the British people voted to leave the EU, the future of the UK's position within the Unified Patent Court (UPC), and the UPC's entire future, has been in doubt. This week the British government appears to have put the final nail in the coffin with the publication of its mandate for negotiating a future relationship with the EU. In paragraph 5 of the paper it is confirmed that the UK will not agree to any obligations which require our laws to be aligned with the EU or under the control...
