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Brands and IP newsnotes - issue 5
27 June 2017Welcome to the 5th edition of our Brands & IP newsnotes put together to bring you the latest, and most interesting legal developments affecting intellectual property law. In this issue we cover; the potential pitfalls of social media, design by artificial intelligence, interesting trade mark applications and cases, an update on the UPC, and the importance of protecting trade secrets.
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Peering over the Brexit cliff edge: The Government’s plans for EU nationals in the UK
27 June 2017The Government has announced its long overdue plan for the future of EU nationals and their family members, who have been anxiously waiting for clarity since the referendum result a year ago.
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Give me a break…KitKat latest developments (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017Last month the Court of Appeal gave us the latest decision in the long running battle between Nestle and Cadbury. Interestingly, whilst agreeing that the well-known four- fingered chocolate snack should not be registered as a 3D trade mark, all three Lord Justices chose to give their own judgment. And for Nestle, this one might just take the biscuit.
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Get me a #covfefe (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017In case you missed it, the 45th President of the United States recently took his habit of late night tweeting to a new low. Presumably meaning to rail against the ‘mainstream media’ coverage, Trump instead complained of “negative press covfefe” and trailed off mid-sentence. Cue ridicule and the hashtag #covfefe trending on Twitter.
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Public goes nutellay crazy for AI design (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017Nutella hit the headlines in February this year after using an algorithm to produce millions of unique labels in Italy. The jars flew off the shelves with customers keen to get their hands on a one-of-a kind jar. Each label design was completely unique with only the Nutella logo remaining the same.
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Champagne supernova: Cristal brand owner sues cava producer (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017Do you know your Champagne from your Cava? Quite possibly, but a High Court judge held in late 2015 that a Spanish cava producer trading under the brand name, “Cristalino” had used a confusingly similar sign to that of the famous tipple preferred by rappers and the like, “Cristal”.
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All hands on deck as creative industries and search engines tackle online piracy (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017The UK Government, through the UKIPO, Ofcom and DMCS, has helped broker an agreement between Google, Bing, the BPI and Motion Picture Association over a new voluntary code of practice.
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To UPC or not UPC – implementation of Unified Patent Court delayed (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is intended to provide a regional forum resolve patent disputes. At the moment, parties have to litigate patent disputes on a country by country basis across Europe, which is time-consuming, expensive and can lead to differing decisions in some countries. UPC decisions will have effect in all 25 states participating in the UPC, providing a single forum to resolve these disputes.
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Playing with fire: user-generated content on Twitter (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017The strange world of Twitter, where brands engage with their customers at their peril. The main lesson learned from the recent #WalkersWave Twitter promotion is one that brands have heard before: the British public love nothing more than a piss-take.
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Clash of the Titans: Google v Uber (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 5)
23 June 2017In February, Waymo, part of Google’s parent company, sued Uber for theft of confidential information. Allegedly, a former employee of Waymo, who had been a key part of Google’s driverless car initiative, took 14,000 files and then shortly jumped ship to start up his own autonomous vehicle company. A short time later, Uber acquired the start-up for $680 million.
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What are the options for the UK and EU to reach a compromise over free movement and access to the single market?
23 June 2017Theresa May’s ill-fated snap election seems to have transformed the UK’s national zeitgeist, not least in the public narrative over Brexit.
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Servicing trade mark infringement
22 June 2017The use of a third party trade mark to provide information or describe a service being offered does not necessarily constitute trade mark infringement. Where the use of a trademark goes beyond that and creates an impression in the average consumer that the particular serviced is authorised by the trade mark owner, this will constitute an infringement.
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Validly serving a Statutory Demand is a prerequisite for presenting a Bankruptcy Petition
22 June 2017The court has stressed the importance of validly serving a Statutory Demand before presenting a Bankruptcy Petition. The creditor must do all that is reasonably required to bring the service of the Statutory Demand to the attention of the debtor. Without effectively serving a Statutory Demand on the debtor, presenting a valid Bankruptcy Petition is impossible.
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Service of a claim form on an agent - was it valid?
22 June 2017In a recent case the High Court considered as a preliminary issue whether a claimant had validly served a claim form on what they considered was the agent of the claimant. The rules of service require that the defendant must be served at the place within the jurisdiction where it conducts business, or where it carries on its activities and which has a real connection with the claim. Therefore the question here was whether the agent’s office was a place at which the defendant conducted its business, or where it carried on its activities?
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What did the Queen’s Speech have to say about employment law?
22 June 2017Employment issues were quite prominent in the Conservative election manifesto, with Theresa May making the bold assertion that she was promising “the greatest expansion in workers’ rights by any Conservative government in history”. In the event, the political reality of minority government and the exigencies of legislating for Brexit have inevitably resulted in a rather more modest reform agenda.
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Vietnam - New mandatory work permit system from 1 July onwards
22 June 2017The Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has been transitioning to a new online work permits application system since April which was piloted in Dong Nai and Vung Tau City.
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Putting a squeeze on patent licences
20 June 2017The recent case of Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd v UCB Pharma SA & Celltech R&D Ltd [2017] EWHC 216 (Pat)
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Home Office has released statistics on illegal working penalties for the UK
19 June 2017The Home Office has released statistics on illegal working penalties totals for the UK from 1 October and 31 December 2016. 703 penalties were issued with total value of £11,595,000 (this value may be reduced through objections and appeals).
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Beware of handing matters over to the court’s discretion
16 June 2017How often in negotiations do parties “duck” issues deemed “too difficult” and try to cope with them by adopting “reasonable” (or other) “endeavours” obligations?
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Paying different dividends to different share classes: as easy as A, B, C?
16 June 2017Giving a company the ability to pay different rates of dividend to different shareholders can be a useful tool.