News
All the latest news and views.
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The Wild East? Protecting trade marks in China
May 2020
Although China is becoming an increasingly important consumer market, it still has the reputation of being a cheap (counterfeit) production country, with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) being the motor of the Chinese economy.
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Patenting Computer-Implemented Healthcare Inventions in AI and Machine Learning
April 2020
With recent advances in computer technology, AI and ML are increasingly being used in products and services for the healthcare industry. Statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organisation also show increasing numbers of AI related patent applications being filed in the Life and Medical Sciences sector. It is, therefore, important to understand what types of invention can be protected in this area and why.
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Fast track or slow lane: Patent strategy or IP cost control?
April 2020
The patent application procedure is notoriously slow and driven by fixed deadlines. We are often asked how to speed up the process and also how to slow down the procedure when big costs approach such as validation of a granted European patent.
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Knowledge to Money – IP Valuation
April 2020
HGF has been asked to include intellectual property (IP) valuation as a topic at its IP in Healthcare Conference on a few occasions now. So this article sets out to give you a high level introduction to IP valuation and what you can do to help yourself.
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SKY Trade Marks applied for to use purely as “Legal Weapon” are held to be invalid
April 2020
In January 2020 the CJEU handed down its eagerly anticipated Judgment in SkyKick - finding that a trade mark application made without any intention to use the trade mark in relation to the goods and services in the specification does constitute bad faith.
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Chain of Title – The Importance of Getting It Right
April 2020
Making sure there are no issues with ownership of IP is of crucial importance to any business. The current economic outlook is likely to result in events which require careful management of IP.
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UK - Billion pound support package for innovative firms hit by coronavirus
April 2020
The Chancellor has announced a new £1.25 billion coronavirus package to protect firms driving innovation in the UK.
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The Legal Position on Electronically Executing Documents
April 2020
With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting home working, the issue of whether legal documents can be signed electronically is being asked more frequently by clients. See update by HGF Senior IP Solicitor Chris Robinson
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EPO Fees – changes applying from April 2020
April 2020
The EPO has announced the revised EPO Fees that will apply from 1 April 2020 in its Official Journal. The new amounts will apply to payments made on or after 1 April 2020.
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UK will no longer seek to participate in unitary patent and UPC
March 2020
The UK Government has confirmed the UK will no longer seek to be part of the proposed unitary patent (UP) or Unified Patent Court (UPC) systems.
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