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Versace in the IPEC: No luck for No Fixed Abode London

In the recent hearing of No Fixed Abode London Ltd v Gianni Versace SpA [2018] EWHC 3221 (IPEC) three IP infringement claims against Versace were struck out for having no resonable prospect of success. The claims related to designs used in and on Versace’s clothing.

For those unaware of the Claimant’s business (myself and the majority of the IP Bar included) “No Fixed Abode is a Luxury Designer Streetwear Fashion Brand founded from adversity and Made in London. NFA is for people that are non conformists.” (link)

The dispute as a whole appears to centre on the Versace Versus ‘diffusion’ line, and its lion logo, and the lion logo of No Fixed Abode London:

[image attributions and sources at the end of the article; unfortunately no commission is received on purchases]

The Judgment of Hacon J provides a few interesting points on summary judgment that are in line with the factors discussed in Part One and Part Two of my recent Article on that topic.… Read more...

Summary Judgment in IP: Part Two – What’s stopping you?

Getting to Court Early

A key difference between IP claims and other litigation is this: after exchange of pleadings, what more does the Court really need to decide the case?

This article is Part Two of two. For Part One, see here: Part One.

Part One looks at early determination of claims in IP, focusing on the recent Judgment in Red Bull v Big Horn ([2018] EWHC 2794 (Ch); as reported in CityAM).

Fact Evidence

Continuing with the example of Red Bull v Big Horn: In some trade mark cases the Court may need evidence as to the perception of the consumer of the goods: I’m not aware how popular Red Bull is among members of the Bench, but I’m sure it has fuelled the occasional late night Judgment writing marathon.… Read more...

One strike and you’re out: Summary Judgment in IP?

Even amongst litigators there’s a common preconception that IP cases are complex, and not the sort of cases that are amenable to summary judgment – but is that really the case?

In the UK, early determination is sought under CPR 3.4 or CPR 24 – strike out or summary judgment respectively. This article will run through the recent unsuccessful summary judgment and strike out application in Red Bull v Big Horn ([2018] EWHC 2794 (Ch); as reported in CityAM) to assess whether IP claims really are too complex for early determination.

To round things off we’ll look at three IP summary judgment success stories (one copyright, one designs, and one patent) to see the kind of cases that do fit the bill.… Read more...

Unwired Planet – AIPPI Rapid Response Seminar – Part 2

On 13 November 2018 AIPPI held a rapid response seminar on the SEP Litigation and FRAND licensing decision of the Court of Appeal in Huawei v Unwired Planet [2018] EWCA Civ 2344.

This is Part Two of this article. Please see here for Part One.

Part Two looks at the responses to the Judgment and its wider consequences. We kick off again with Richard Vary and Sir Robin Jacob.

The Consequences of the Judgment

Whether the FRAND obligation extends to an obligation to license to all parties is currently a hot topic.

Does the Unwired Planet Judgment indicate that FRAND undertakings oblige licensors to licence to other parties at all parts of the supply chain?… Read more...

Unwired Planet – AIPPI Rapid Response Seminar – Part 1

On 13 November 2018 AIPPI held a rapid response seminar on the decision of the Court of Appeal in Huawei v Unwired Planet [2018] EWCA Civ 2344. What follows is a write up of the event – the first part is an analysis of the issues in the case and the arguments on appeal – the second part contains further insight from the hosts into the Judgment and its effect on global SEP and FRAND litigation more generally.

(Part Two is available here).

The evening was hosted by The Rt. Hon. Prof. Sir Richard Jacob (UCL) and Richard Vary of Bird & Bird (formerly of Nokia), in response to the handing down by the Court of Appeal of its much-awaited Judgment in the Huawei v Unwired Planet Standard Essential Patent (SEP) Litigation, in relation to 2G/GSM,3G/UMTS and 4G/LTE technologies used in mobile phones. … Read more...

What’s wrong with the Supreme Court’s Pregabalin decision?

Everything to do with second medical use patents.

Not because of any fault in the legal reasoning: because the decision came to be made by a Court at all.

If you haven’t yet had a chance to read the Pregabalin Judgment then you can save yourself some time by reading this excellent summary by Darren Smyth of EIP.

This article isn’t going to re-tread any ground. It’s about whether the law relating to second medical use patents is fit for purpose, and whether a Court should really be making these assessments, Supreme or not.

The reason you should care about patenting new uses for existing drugs, even if you’re not a patent lawyer, is because it is the future of healthcare.… Read more...

Contender, ready?

Gladiator, ready?

So spoke John Anderson in the classic 1990s TV show Gladiator. What’s that got to do with IP law? The answer can be found in the case of KBF Enterprises v Gladiator Nutrition [2018] EWHC 3041 (IPEC), handed down by Recorder Amanda Michaels on 9 November 2018.

The case is one of trade mark infringement and passing off. As you’ll remember, one of the eponymical Gladiators was named Warrior, and was played by a man called Daniel Singh – the Third Defendant.

The Claimant, KBF, also known by its trading name of BodyBuilding Warehouse, own marks including WARRIOR SUPPLEMENTS and WARRIOR in classes 5, 30 and 32, covering goods such as protein supplements and vitamins.… Read more...

Hello world

I’ve owned cronan.co.uk for more than ten years now. I always promised myself I would get around to producing an elegant and simple homepage in HTML and CSS: a true testament to my IT credentials.

I think it is safe to say that day was never going to come.

Rationally, my time is much better spent focusing on my actual job than learning additional tangential skills in some kind of meta-display of technical ability. Maybe one day I’ll finish that MOOC and finally get to grips with HTML 5 on Codeacademy. All things being equal I think I’d rather leave it to the professionals.… Read more...