Our partners and attorneys are highly qualified and highly experienced to advise you in all areas of Intellectual Property law. We advise start-ups, SMEs, and multinational corporations and ensure that your inventions, brands and designs are expertly protected.
All of the Partners & People of AA Thornton are joining forces with Venner Shipley
In the recent case of Vodafone v IPCom [2023] EWCA Civ 113 the Court of Appeal ruled that it would not re-visit a costs order of nearly £1 million following the European Patent Office (“EPO”) subsequently revoking the patent which underpinned the original action. This case highlights the importance of parties to litigation (and their… Read more »
Good news for UK businesses, the UK Government has agreed a deal to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with a well-negotiated exemption. The CPTPP is a free trade agreement between 11 countries, which reduces trade and investment barriers between members by eliminating tariffs and establishing common rules. The Agreement includes… Read more »
The UK IPO has issued the first Tribunal Practice Notice (TPN) of 2023, which brings together previous guidance regarding costs in trade mark, patent and design tribunal proceedings and updates the scale of costs. Scale of costs The UK IPO Tribunal will continue to award costs in proceedings in line with the published scale. The… Read more »
Background The main value of many technology merger or acquisition deals may not lie in tangible property like buildings or stock inventory. Often the value lies in intellectual property (IP), and patents in particular. It is common practice for companies to monitor the R&D activities of others, particularly smaller innovators. This is done with a… Read more »
Author: Fergus Brown On 28 June 2022, the UKIPO published its response (here) addressing the second consultation on the interplay between artificial intelligence and intellectual property, which ran from October 2021 to January 2022. The consultation sought input on three specific areas: Copyright protection for computer-generated works (CGWs) without a human author; Licensing or… Read more »
In the recent case of Shazam v Only Fools The Dining Experience and Others [2022] EWHC 1379 (IPEC) the IPEC ruled that copyright could subsist in a fictional character considered a ‘literary work’ under UK copyright law. The case concerned the character Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter from the long-running TV series Only Fools and Horses… Read more »
Hiplok talk to Geoff Hussey about the importance of IP In this video client Hiplok talk to partner Geoff Hussey about how they design their products, and the importance of IP for small businesses. Hiplok design innovative security locks for cyclists. They also happen to be the designers of the world’s first wearable bike lock…. Read more »
