News
All the latest news and views.
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HGF continues to be highly ranked in Chambers and Partners 2021 guide
October 2020
HGF is delighted to be ranked in Band 1 for Yorkshire, North West and National Leaders (outside London). The firm is also ranked Band 2 for UK-wide Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys and Band 3 for Midlands.
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MIP IP Rising Stars 2020/2021
October 2020
Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) IP Rising Stars 2020/21 guide has been published. HGF is delighted to have 4 attorneys listed.
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In Review - Lockdown Proofing Your IP
October 2020
Following the lifting of the national lockdown in the UK and months of home working, businesses have faced numerous challenges, from how to effectively enable employees to work at home to developing new strategies for running their business in the face of change.
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Legal 500 2021
October 2020
HGF has been ranked Tier 2 in PATMA: Patent Attorneys, PATMA: Trade Mark Attorneys, North West, West Midlands, Yorkshire & The Humber and Tier 5 in London: Patents Contentious and Non-Contentious.
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UK High Court rules an AI Machine (DABUS) cannot be an Inventor but Owner possibly could be
September 2020
In a decision published on 21 September 2020, a High Court judge, Mr Justice Marcus Smith, has ruled that an Artificial Intelligence (AI) machine cannot be considered to be an inventor under the UK Patents Act 1977 and that, in any event, the right to obtain a patent application could not be transferred from an AI inventor to a patent applicant as an AI inventor lacks the legal personality to own and transfer property rights.
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HGF offices and COVID-19 deadlines
September 2020
HGF continues to remain fully operational with the majority of staff working remotely due to the ongoing situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
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UK Supreme Court Reaches a Unanimous decision in Parallel Unwired Planet and Conversant Appeal cases, Spelling Victory for Standard Essential Patent Holders
August 2020
The Supreme Court has today (26th August 2020) issued decisions unanimously dismissing two parallel appeals from English Court of Appeal decisions. The decision can be found here. In particular, the “Unwired appeal” and the “Conversant appeal”. The Supreme Court heard the oral arguments in October 2019.
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IAM Strategy 300 2020
August 2020
IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists guide has now been published and HGF is proud to have 4 Partners listed.
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Furlough and entitlement
August 2020
Recently we reviewed with a client a new invention, for which there is a (currently unanswered) question whether the employee devised this invention whilst on furlough. It has therefore led us to consider how the furlough scheme may affect entitlement for other inventions and employers.
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Coronavirus update: Oral proceedings before Opposition Divisions and Boards of Appeal
August 2020
In view of the ongoing disruptions caused by the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the European Patent Office (EPO) has implemented special measures for arrangement and conduct of oral proceedings. These measures are now updated with respect to oral proceedings before Opposition Divisions and Boards of Appeal. Oral proceedings in examination will continue to be held by videoconference.
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