NIPC Law

Jane Lambert

Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (HH Judge Hacon)  Coloplast AS v MacGregor Healthcare Ltd [2018] EWHC 2797 (IPEC) (24 Oct 2018)

This was a claim by the Danish company, Coloplast AS, against MacGregor Healthcare Ltd for damages and other relief for the alleged infringement of European Patent (UK) No. 1 145 729. The defendant, MacGregor, counterclaimed for the patent to be declared invalid on grounds of anticipation, obviousness and insufficiency. The action and counterclaim came before His Honour Judge Hacon on 10 and 11 July 2018.  The judge dismissed the claim.  He found that the patent was invalid for want of an inventive step and insufficiency but added at para [159] of his judgment that had the patent been valid he would have held it to have been infringed.

The Invention
The invention for which the patent was granted is a ready-to-use urinary catheter assembly. Catheters are inserted into a patient's urethra to empty the bladder. To avoid discomfort catheter…

Jane Lambert

Yesterday I attended the eCommerce Show North at EventCity Manchester.  One of the exhibitors was Tesla Inc. Two of the company's cars were on display and I took a peek inside one of them.  The car had a steering wheel and many of the instruments that would be expected on any other car but I could find only one pedal and there was a large screen displaying the locations of the nearest charging points.

At first, I was surprised to find a luxury car manufacturer among the developers, fintech, marketing and social media consultancies, private equity and business angel investors but then I realized that logistics are essential to electronic commerce. Goods purchased over the internet have to be delivered. The optimum means of delivery are autonomous electric vehicles. Those are the things that Tesla develops and manufacturers.  Not just motor cars but electric lorries fitted with enhanced autopilot systems.

The eCommerce Show North coincided with the publication by the Eu…

Jane Lambert

Court of Appeal (Lord Kitchin, Lord Justice Floyd and Lady Justice Asplin) Unwired Planet International Ltd  and Another v Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Another [2018] EWCA Civ 2344 (23 Oct 2018)

FRAND stands for "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory".   It is an acronym to describe the terms upon which licences should be granted for standard essential patents ("SEPs").   SEPs are patents for inventions that are crucial for compliance with a technical standard.   I attempted an introduction to FRAND terms and SEPs in FRANDon 8 Oct 2017. Lord Kitchin gave a much better one in the first five paragraphs of his judgment in Unwired Planet International Ltd and Another v Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Another [2018] EWCA Civ 2344 (23 Oct 2018).

Unwired Planet
In FRAND I discussed Mr Justice Birss's decision in Unwired Planet International Ltd v Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and another [2017] EWHC 1304 (Pat) (7 June 2017) which was the first British cas…

Jane Lambert

Ever since the referendum and indeed before it I have tried to anticipate the legal protection for brands, designs, technology and creativity if and when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union (see Were we to go - what would Brexit mean for IP?26 Feb 2016, What Sort of IP Framework do we need after Brexit and what are we likely to get?3 July 2016  and IP Planning for Brexit 7 Dec 2018).  Much will depend on the terms upon which we leave the EU and our relationship after departure.

Since the 23 Aug 2018 the government has published guidance on How to prepare if the UK leaves the EU with no deal. That guidance covers everything from Applying for EU Funded Programmes to Workplace Rights.  I commented about it in And if there is no deal ..................24 Aug 2018 NIPC Brexit,  Topics include patents, copyrights, trade marks and designs, geographical indications and plant breeders' rights.

I have discussed these topics and the government's guidance in:
Patents …