NIPC Law

  Author  Ciencias Españolas   Licence  CC BY-SA 3.0   Source  Wikipedia Commons   Jane Lambert Patents Court (Michael Tappin KC sitting as a judge of the High Court) Hill v Touchlight Genetics Ltd and others [2025] EWHC 107 (Pat) (27 Jan 2025) I previously discussed this litigation in  Patents - Hill v Touchlight Genetics Ltd . on 11 July 2024.  I noted that it was an entitlement action, that is to say, a claim to ownership of certain patents and patent applications.   It was also an infringement claim in that the claimant alleged that the defendants had infringed the patents that she claimed. There was also a contingent counterclaim.  The action came before Michael Tappin KC sitting as a deputy judge of the High Court between 25 and 28 Nov 2024 and 3 to 4 and 10 to 11 Dec 2024.   At para [331] of his judgment in  Hill v Touchlight Genetics Ltd and others   [2025] EWHC 107 (Pat), which he handed down...

By Volker Prasuhn, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8363375   Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Tom Mitcheson KC) Bionome Technology Ltd v Clearwater [2024] EWHC 3155 (Ch) (9 Dec 2024) This was an appeal from the decision of the Deputy Director of Patents, Huw Jones, sitting on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks in an entitlement dispute.   As I said in How to Avoid Entitlement Disputes   on 22 June 2024 in NIPC Inventors' Club, an entitlement dispute is a dispute over the right to apply for or own a patent.   I wrote about such disputes in Disputes over Ownership of Inventions   on 6 Aug 2015 in NIPC South East. The Dispute In  Okipa Ltd and another v Bionome Technology Ltd   BL   O/0410/24 3 May 2024, Mr Jones held that British patent  GB2598881  and international patent application  WO2021/191614 A1 for controlling the growth of vegetation ("the invention")...

Author  Ciencias Españolas  Licence CC BY-SA 3.0   Source Wikipedia Commons   Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Justice Mellor)    Hill v Touchlight Genetics Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 533 (Pat) (08 March 2024) The High Court has power under s.70 (1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 to call in the aid of one or more assessors specially qualified, and hear and dispose of the cause or matter wholly or partially with their assistance if it thinks it expedient to do so. Subsection (3) of the same section requires rules of court to make provision for the appointment of scientific advisers to assist the Patents Court in proceedings under the Patents Act 1977 and for regulating the functions of such advisers. S.70 is implemented by CPR 35.15 .  Para (2) of that rule mandates the assessor to assist the court in dealing with a matter in which the assessor has skill and experience. He or she is obliged by CPR 35. 15 (3) to take such part in the proceed...

Author Anthony Majanlahti   Licence CC BY 2.0 Deed   Source Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert Court of Appeal (Lords Justices Lewison and Arnold and Lady Justice Falk)  easyGroup Ltd v Easy Live (Services) Ltd and others (Rev1) [2023] EWCA Civ 1508 (20 Dec 2023) This was an appeal by the claimant, easyGroup Ltd. ("easyGroup"), against the dismissal by Sir Anthony Mann of its claim for passing off against the defendants, Easy Live Services Ltd. and its shareholders and directors Achilleas Achilleous and Jonathan Burnside, for the reasons set out in Sir Anthony's judgment in  Easygroup Ltd v Easy Live (Services) Ltd and others [2022] EWHC 3327 (Ch) (21 Dec 2022).  easyGroup also appealed against a declaration that the defendants' use of certain signs did not infringe various trade marks owned by easyGroup.  The appeal came on before Lords Justices Lewison and Arnold and Lady Justice Falk on 13 Dec 2023.  By their judgment of 20 Dec 2023, they u...