Handbag Copyist Bagged; When Patent Damages Together With Costs Are Withheld; Latest Ip Review

1 Only Connect!

's trawl of IP tidings today took him to the fantabulous All England Direct subscription service in 1 trial again, where he constitute French Connection Ltd v Fresh Ideas Fashion Ltd - to a greater extent than or less other Chancery Division determination from novel man child on the bench Mr Justice Kitchin.

Fashion retailers French Connection owned together with extensively used 2 Community merchandise marks: the give-and-take marks FCUK together with FRENCH CONNECTION, both beingness registered for trunks, travelling bags, handbags together with hold-alls (Class 18). They objected that Fresh Ideas had made together with sold handbags that bore their give-and-take marks together with used a similar type font, suing both them together with their sole manager for merchandise grade infringement together with passing off. French Connection pressed for summary judgment; the defendants did non present upward inwards courtroom together with were non represented.

Kitchin J allowed the application together with granted summary judgment. No accused could withstand such an application unless it could present to a greater extent than or less jeopardy of successfully defending the claim at trial. That jeopardy had to go ‘real’, pregnant that it could non go false, fanciful or imaginary together with had to go to a greater extent than than simply arguable. On the evidence, the defendants had no realistic prospect of successfully defending the proceedings at trial.

Left: this lightbulb illustrates a non-original idea -- copying soul else's merchandise marks

wonders whether the courtroom reporter turned upward inwards representative Kitchin J had anything controversial or exciting to tell nigh the validity of the FCUK merchandise mark, upon which Mr Justice Rattee had cast aspersions, obiter, inwards French Connection v Sutton. [2000] ETMR 341. There was for certain nil inwards the banker's complaint on this determination to advise that in that place was going to go anything of involvement to the IP footing at large. Merpel adds, why does a companionship that copies soul else's merchandise marks desire to telephone outcry upward itself Fresh Ideas?


2 Badly drawn patent claim, but swell plenty ...

Another representative to stray the IPKat's agency today was the Court of Appeal's patent determination inwards Unilin Beheer BV v Berry Floor NV [2005] EWCA Civ 1292, constitute on complimentary judgment service BAILII.

After Unilin applied for a patent for a flooring covering, it became aware of to a greater extent than or less prior fine art that required it to narrow the reach of its top dog claim. Once the patent was granted, Unilin sued 3 businesses for infringement. The defendants counterclaimed for revocation, raising a fresh together with hitherto uncited slice of prior art. The trial guess (David Young QC, sitting every bit a Deputy Judge) constitute that, spell the offset xix claims of the patent were invalid, claims xx together with 21 were both valid together with infringed, inwards a judgment that was affirmed past times the Court of Appeal inwards 2004. Unilin together with thence pressed for damages together with costs. The defendants contended that, since the amendments previously made to the patent showed that the specification had non been framed alongside reasonable science together with knowledge, neither damages nor costs should go awarded nether the Patents Act 1977, s.63(2). David Young QC held that the specification every bit a whole was drafted alongside reasonable science together with that Unilin was entitled to its costs.

The defendants appealed, disputation that in that place had been thence much absence of assist that the patent could non go said to bring been framed alongside reasonable skill. By a respondent’s notice, the claimant contended that inwards finding that 2 passages were non framed alongside reasonable science together with knowledge, the guess had been taking into trouble concern human relationship irrelevant matter.

The Court of Appeal (Mummery, Jacob together with Neuberger LJJ) dismissed the appeal. Under department 63(2), what mattered was relevant science together with knowledge: that which was necessary to create the chore of compliance alongside the European Patent Convention together with to furnish accurate technical information. If to a greater extent than or less irrelevant but harmless affair remained inside the specification, it was nonetheless drafted alongside reasonable science together with knowledge. It made no sense to concord that reasonable science together with noesis should extend to affair which was irrelevant.

In this representative in that place was no nexus betwixt the reasons for the amendment together with the alleged lack of reasonable science together with knowledge. With all its faults, the patent was nonetheless non inwards whatever agency misleading. The trial guess had constitute that, taking the specification every bit a whole, that fault had non amounted to a lack of reasonable skill, together with that was the assort of assessment alongside which an appeal courtroom should non interfere unless it was acre wrong.

This interpretation of s.62(2) must go correct, the IPKat feels. Statutory provisions that confine damages together with costs that a successful political party would otherwise go awarded are exceptions to the norm and, similar all exceptions, should go construed narrowly. Merpel concurs together with adds: this is odd - a Court of Appeal inwards which all 3 judges bring IP experience, 2 indeed every bit quondam Patents Court judges.


3 IP Review

Issue 12 of CPA's quarterly IP Review may bring been out for a petty while, but it has exclusively precisely reached the meridian of the pile of papers on the IPKat's desk. This issue's encompass story is a step-by-step guide to .eu domain call registration past times PWC's Wim Van den Bossche together with Bart Lieben. Other items inwards this final result include "Tracking Caterpillar", on the trail of a celebrated together with imaginative brand, an introduction to OHIM procedures for the offset crop of Community merchandise grade renewals inwards 2006 together with a review past times the effervescent Charlotte Presse of Barcelona's Brand Management Forum.

Register your .eu domain here
Renew your Community merchandise grade online here
Buy your caterpillars here