NIPC Law

Jane Lambert A question that I have been asked more than once is "What exactly does a FRAND licence look like?" Before the Supreme Court handed down its decision on 26 Aug 2020 I could say: "Let's wait for the Supreme Court's judgment,"  The Supreme Court did not answer that question in its judgment though it has given some guidance.  I shall discuss this topic in my talk on 3 Sept 2020.  If you want to take part in the conversation, register here. The starting point is to look at the draft agreement between (1) Unwired Planet Limited Liability Company and (2) Unwired Planet International LimitedandHuawei Technologies Co., Ltd.Huawei Technologies (UK) Co., Ltd. at the end of the judgment of Mr Justice Birss (as he then was) in Unwired Planet International Ltd v Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. and another   [2017] RPC 20, [2017] EWHC 1304 (Pat). The judgment of which that draft agreement forms part has been upheld by the Supreme Court in Unwired ...

By Christine Smith - This file has been extracted from another file: Middlesex Guildhall.png, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82543212 Jane Lambert Supreme Court (Lord Reed, Lord Hodge, Lady Black. Lord Briggs and Lord Sales)  Unwired Planet International Ltd and another v Huawei Technologies (UK) Co Ltd and another [2020] UKSC 37 (26 August 2020) This was the judgment in the conjoined appeals from the decisions of the Court of Appeal in  Unwired Planet International Ltd and another v Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and another   [2018] RPC 20, [2018] EWCA Civ 2344 and  Huawei Technologies Co, Ltd v Conversant Wireless Licensing S.A.R.L [2019] RPC 6, [2019] EWCA Civ 38.  I have discussed the litigation in the High Court and Court of Appeal in FRAND - A Recap   on   8 Aug 2020 and FRAND on 8 Oct 2017.  I shall discuss the Supreme Court's judgment on FRAND in a talk over Zoo...

Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Recorder Campbell) Bayerische Motoren Werke AG v Premier Alloy Wheels (UK) Ltd and others [2020] EWHC 2094 (Pat) (30 July 2020) This was an action by the motor manufacturer. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG  ("BMW)  for trade mark and registered Community design ("RCD") infringement, passing off and, in the case of one the defendants, Devon Thompson ("Devon"), breach of contract.  There was also a counterclaim for revocation of the RCD.  The main defendant was a company called DGT Wheels and Tyres Ltd ("DGT") the ordinary shares of which were owned by  Jerome Layzell ("JL") who was also its only director.   DGT had a warehouse on an industrial estate in Basildon as well as retail premises elsewhere in that town.   The warehouse was operated by another company called Premier Alloy Wheels (UK) Ltd ("Premier") which was owned and run by JL's stepfather, Devon. Devon was in prison when the trial took...

By Skyring at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6852664 Jane Lambert Chancery Division (Mr Justice Warby) Duchess of Sussex v Associated Newspapers Ltd ( Rev 1) [2020] EWHC 2160 (Ch) (5 Aug 2020) This was an application by the claimant for an order to restrain the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday from using information that she had supplied in response to a request for further information under CPR Part 18 about the identity of individuals who had provided information on the claimant in confidence to the US magazine The People  for any purpose other than the defence of a claim that had been brought against it for misuse of personal information, infringement of copyright and breach of the General Data Protection Regulation. The application came on before Mr Justice Warby on 29 July 2020 and he handed down judgment in  Duchess of Sussex v Associated Newspapers Ltd ( Rev ...

By Kim Traynor - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22544850 Jane Lambert Court of Session, Outer House ( Lord Doherty)  Reactec Ltd. v Curotec Team Lt d . [2020] CSOH 77, [2020] ScotCS CSOH_77 This was a patent infringement claim with a counterclaim for revocation of the patent on the ground of obviousness.  The proceedings took place before Lord Doherty in the Outer House of the Court of Session in Edinburgh.  For those unfamiliar with the Scottish court system, the Court of Session is the highest civil court in Scotland with original and appellate jurisdiction.  The first instance division is called the Outer House and the appellate division the Inner House (see " About the Court of Session"  on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals website).  Rule 55.2 of the Court of Session Rules  provides for patent cases in the Outer House to be heard by a designated intellectual property judge. Patent in...

J ane Lambert Chancery Division (HH Judge Melissa Clarke)  Jaguar Land Rover Ltd v Ineos Industries Holdings Ltd [2020] EWHC 2130 (Ch) (3 Aug 2020) On 11 April 2016, Jaguar Landrover Ltd. ("JLR") applied to register the shapes of the Land Rover Defender 90 and Land Rover Defender 110 motor vehicles, in each case with and without rear-mounted spare wheels ("the Marks") and the shapes of the Defender 90 and 110 with spare wheels, in classes 9, 12, 14, 28 and 37.  On 12 May 2016, that company applied to register the shapes of the Defender 90 and 110 without spare wheels. Unlike registered designs, design rights and copyrights, trade marks can be renewed indefinitely. It is not easy to register the shape of a product because there are restrictions on the registrations of signs that consist exclusively of indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, the time of production...

Jane Lambert Just before Christmas, I was asked to speak to the Cambridge IP Law Summer School on  TMT: A SEP & FRAND   which was due to take place this week.  The invitation was offered a few weeks after counsel for the parties in  ZTE Corporation and another v Conversant Wireless Licensing SARL ,  Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and another v Conversant Wireless Licensing SARL   and  Unwired Planet International Ltd and another v Huawei Technologies (UK) Co Ltd and another   had presented their cases to the Supreme Court and we had every hope that the Justices would have delivered their judgment by now.  Sadly, coronavirus has delayed the business of the Supreme Court and the Summer School will now take place online rather than in Cambridge.  Fortunately, I can still give my talk as planned. In FRAND   I wrote that those letters stand for "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory".  Those are the terms upon which an ...