< Back to latest news & events

News

WIPR article – Rolex: is the trademark world its Oyster?

February 2023

HGF Trade Mark Director Claire Jones comments in the WIPR article on ‘Rolex: is the trademark world it’s Oyster?’.

The article written by Sarah Speight looks at how the luxury brand is accusing a British clockmaker of infringing its long-established ‘Oyster’ wristwatch range amid what appears to be a wave of litigation from Rolex.

Preview of the article:

Hot on the heels of a trademark loss against a Nordic fashion brand over a crown logo, luxury watchmaker Rolex has found a new target: a family business based in England that sells children’s educational clocks. Oyster & Pop, set up by two sisters during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, makes wall clocks designed to help children learn to tell the time. The products, which retail at around £20 each ($25), clearly display the company’s name. Rolex, having claimed the name ‘Oyster’ as its own for its decades-old range of wristwatches, is taking aim.

READ ARTICLE

Latest updates

Event - 12th September 2025

Wolters Kluwer Breakfast Panel on AI & IP at AIPPI

Sofie McPherson, Patent Director at HGF, will be moderating a special breakfast panel session hosted by Wolters Kluwer at the AIPPI World Congress in Yokohama on 15 September 2025. Session …

Event details

T1465/23 – No Narrowing by Description—EPO Board Terminates Inventive Step Analysis for Arbitrary Modifications Citing G1/24 and G1/19

“The potential patentability of a specific narrow embodiment…cannot render a claim allowable which, due to its breadth, encompasses a multitude of other, non-inventive embodiments” – r. 3.5. Background EP3113515 was …

Read article

Wrestling with G1/24 – How should the claims be interpreted in view of the description?

In G1/24, the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) codified how claims should be interpreted for assessing patentability: in consultation with the description. However, the decision was light on how, in …

Read article

Welcome to HGF Presents - New Video Series

Introducing HGF Presents a new video series delivering practical insights into European Patent Law and practice. Curated by our leading experts in chemistry, life sciences, technology & engineering, each concise …

Read article

Seminar on Incorporating Trade Secrets into your IP Strategy

HGF is hosting a Seminar on Incorporating Trade Secrets into your IP Strategy which will be followed by networking, apero, and snacks. The Seminar will be held on Wednesday, 10th …

Read article

PRESS RELEASE – HGF strengthens European presence with three new Partners in France and Germany

HGF is pleased to announce the arrival of three new partners, further strengthening its European presence. Two partners will be joining the firm’s fast-growing French practice, and one will join …

Read article

Providing Enabling Disclosure for AI inventions at the EPO

  Video overview: The equivalent to the enablement requirement in the US at the EPO is Sufficiency. There is an increasing trend for the sufficiency of AI related patent applications …

Read article

Personalised Medicine Patenting of Known Drugs for Known Indications at the EPO

Video overview: The identification of specific sub-groups of patients to treat with a known drug, even if said patients may have been treated before with the drug, can yield patentable …

Read article
See all updates