Tag:Registered designs

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UK Trade Mark and Design Reform Consultation
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The Battle of the Supermarkets Vol. 2 – GINgle Bells, GINgle Bells, GIN All the Way
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Designs Law Changes Now Enacted in Australia
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A Welcome Proposal to Introduce a Grace Period Into the Australian Designs Act
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Lucky number 7: IPEC small tracks claims can be issued in 7 new locations and are no longer tied to London
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IP Exemptions to Competition Laws to be Removed: Restrictions in Licences to be Subject to Competition and Consumer Act 2010
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Worth the fight: IP dispute resolution that won’t break the bank

UK Trade Mark and Design Reform Consultation

The UKIPO Transformation Programme

The UKIPO launched a transformation programme to modernise their trade mark and design services by the end of 2025. The aim is to replace their existing processes with a fully digitalised system in line with increased volume of work and customer demand.

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The Battle of the Supermarkets Vol. 2 – GINgle Bells, GINgle Bells, GIN All the Way

It is beGINning to look a lot like a legal disputes saga between supermarkets in the UK. We have recently covered an ongoing dispute between Lidl and Tesco (see here), which relates to an alleged trade mark infringement. This time, Marks & Spencer (M&S) are suing the largest Europe’s discount grocery chain Aldi for copying their registered designs of the light-up Christmas gin bottles. This is the second legal case in recent times brought by M&S against Aldi, with the first one involving the famous Colin the Caterpillar cake, which has since been settled. Notably, the case at hand in relation to gin bottles demonstrates the benefits of registering designs in the UK, especially if such design is unique and has a significant value to the brand, and the brand would like to protect it against any copycats.

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Designs Law Changes Now Enacted in Australia

Following on from our article of 15 February 2021, which can be read here, the Designs Amendment (Advisory Council on Intellectual Property Response) Bill 2020 received Royal Assent on 10 September 2021.

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A Welcome Proposal to Introduce a Grace Period Into the Australian Designs Act

The Designs Amendment (Advisory Council on Intellectual Property Response) Bill 2020 (Bill), with important changes to designs law, is currently before Senate for consideration. It includes a much-anticipated change to implement a grace period that will allow designers to publish their designs before applying for design protection.

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Lucky number 7: IPEC small tracks claims can be issued in 7 new locations and are no longer tied to London

The expansion of the UK Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (the “IPEC”) has continued with claims now able to be issued in seven new locations outside of London.

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IP Exemptions to Competition Laws to be Removed: Restrictions in Licences to be Subject to Competition and Consumer Act 2010

The Australian Federal Parliament has been debating the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 5) Bill 2018 (Bill), which seeks to repeal section 51(3) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA).
The Bill is expected to pass during this session of Parliament (by 6 December 2018). Section 51(3) of the CCA presently provides an exemption from most of the competition law prohibitions for certain types of transactions involving intellectual property (IP). The current exemption covers conditions in licences or assignments of IP rights in patents, registered designs, copyright, trade marks and circuit layouts.

Once passed, commercial transactions involving IP rights will be subject to the same competition laws as all other transactions involving other types of property and assets. The repeal will apply retrospectively but IP owners will have six months to review existing licences and agreements. It is important for brand owners to consider their key licensing arrangements and the possible competitive implications of those arrangements.

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Worth the fight: IP dispute resolution that won’t break the bank

Small businesses and individual rights holders are set to benefit from the Intellectual Property National Pilot Scheme in the Federal Circuit Court

A specialist IP list in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (FCC) is open for business, with the goal of achieving quick, cheap and effective dispute resolution of intellectual property matters.

The Intellectual Property National Pilot Scheme commenced on 1 July 2018 and appeals to small and medium-sized enterprises, individual rights holders and young innovators who may have previously avoided the court system even though they had a legitimate right or a good defence, but found that it simply wasn’t worth the fight.

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