What happens when two parties cannot agree about the interpretation of an IP licence agreement? This question was recently examined by Deputy Master Raeburn in a dispute between a designer, Damian Evans, and the producer of homeware products, Joseph Joseph Limited (JJL). The judgment is available here. Kitchenware designs Evans had signed an agreement with JJL in 2007, under which he licensed to the company the IP rights in his designs for kitchenware. This was amended in 201

In short, yes: the UK courts can grant a pan-EU injunction in proceedings that were pending on 31 December 2020, the day the UK left the EU. That was the conclusion of Sir Julian Flaux, Chancellor of the High Court, in his judgment in a dispute between Easygroup and Beauty Perfectionists (& others) over the latter’s use of the name easyCOSMETICS. Under the EUTM Regulation, EU member states can designate national courts as EU trade mark courts. These courts have jurisdiction t

A legal action for unjustified threats is a serious risk that trade mark owners run when making allegations of infringement, including by issuing takedown notices via online platforms such as marketplaces. As a recent decision showed, the risk of unjustified threats should not be taken lightly. The decision came in a dispute over knitting needles. The case dates back to November 2015, when Indian company KnitPro issued takedown notices to Amazon UK regarding wooden knitting n

There was not a lot of excitement in 2021 but one IP highlight concerned the ongoing Original Beauty v G4K saga. We first wrote about this dispute here. The 122 page judgment went into detail on the design process and inner workings of the two businesses - better known as House of CB and Oh Polly. Some other businesses might have decided to focus on identifying an appropriate settlement solution but instead we have had eight further judgments since the first High Court decisi

Trade mark infringement, honest concurrent use and so-called “moribund marks” were the focus of an interim decision in a case concerning alleged infringement of the claimant's trade marks STEALTH and STEALTH VR (stylised) for gaming headsets: ABP Technology Ltd v Voyetra Turtle Beach, Inc. & Anor (Rev1). ABP Technology claimed that the defendants’ use of the STEALTH sign for video game headsets infringed its UK trade marks registered in relation to audio headsets for playing