EU

Since the launch of the UPC system on 1 June 2023, holders of European patents and European patents with unitary effect (‘unitary patents’) have been able to bring actions against third parties in a single legal procedure. 

As of 1 June 2023, organisations can benefit from the new unitary patent and Unified Patent Court system in Europe. We set out the answers to some frequently asked questions about this new European patent right in our updated white paper 'The Unitary Patent: A practical guide'.

Since 1 June 2023, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) has replaced national courts as the court of jurisdiction for infringement and invalidity actions relating to unitary patents and European patents that have not been opted out from the new court system.

IP rights provide an invaluable means for protecting the heart and soul of a brand. That's why identifying what trademarks to protect and proactively maintaining those rights is so crucial to the brand development process.

Does the use of a trademark in a connected sector constitute genuine use of that mark? What if that mark is used in differing forms? Florence Chapin outlines a recent EU General Court ruling that provides some answers.

Which court has competency when trademark infringement takes place online? A recent CJEU ruling considered this question in the context of a dispute over meta tag and Google Ads trademark infringement. Volha Parfenchyk outlines its implications.

The Second Board of Appeal of the European IP Office (EUIPO) recently issued a decision confirming the refusal to register an emoji trademark representing ‘I Love You’. The EUIPO had refused to register the pictogram on the basis that it was unable to fulfil the essential function of a trademark, namely to indicate the origin of the products and/or services of a company.

Disclosing an invention before filing a patent, whether by accident or design, may lead to any subsequent patent application being rejected. Adrien Metivet sets out the dangers and consequences of uncontrolled invention disclosure. 

For supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) to be filed in the EU, they must be based on a basic patent. Lise Luciani discusses this condition in the context of a recent French ruling.

EUIPO's cancellation of the MINISO trademark based on a copyright registration underlines that a trademark registration can be cancelled for infringing other IP rights, not simply registered trademarks, says Valerie Annan.

The proposed EU design reform package seeks to rejuvenate, harmonise and modernise a system that was originally implemented 20 years ago. Anne-Catherine Schihin sets out its main objectives, including the green goals of the new repair clause.