NIPC News

Author Muhammad Karns Licence CC BY-SA 4.0   Source Wikimedia Commons Rolls Building, Business and Property Courts Jane Lambert There has been a recent flurry of judicial appointments that will affect intellectual property dispute resolution in both London and the North of England. On 26 June 2025, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Lord Justice Birss as Chancellor of the High Court with effect from 1 Nov 2025 (see the press release  Appointment of the Chancellor of the High Court: June 2025 ,  25 Jun 2025).  As the press release states, the Chancellor of the High Court is one of the most senior judges in England and Wales.  The Chancellor presides over the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal and sits as a judge of first instance in the Chancery Division.   He will have full responsibility for the Business and Property Courts in London and other centres, including the Patents Court , the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court  and t...

Diagram of the Turing test Author Juan Alberto Sánchez Margallo Licence CC BY 2.5   Source Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert Following the Court of Appeal's judgment in Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks v Emotional Perception AI Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 825. [2024] Bus LR 1589, [2024] WLR(D) 339 on 19 July 2024 which I discussed in Patents - the Appeal in Comptroller v Emotional Perceptions   on 26 Aug 2024, the UK Intellectual Property Office has published new  Guidelines for examining patent applications relating to artificial intelligence (AI)  and  Scenarios applying the guidelines for examining patent applications for AI . The Guidelines state that AI inventions as computer-implemented inventions. They explain that AI inventions rely on mathematical methods and computer programs in some way. The law excludes from patent protection inventions relating solely to a mathematical method or a program for a computer but when a...

  Jane Lambert The robes to be worn by the judges of the Court of First Instance and Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court are quite fetching.  Photos of those robes are to be found in the Annexes to the Presidium Decision of the Dress Code of the Unified Patent Court  of 4 April 2023 which came into force yesterday, Art 1 of the Decision requires judges of the Court of First Instance to wear a gown as shown and described in Annex I,  It is a black and blue garment that extends halfway to the lower leg. The outer fabric of the gown is made from black, 100% ultra-fine Merino virgin wool. The trim on the sleeves and lapels is dark blue and made from 100% fine cotton velvet. There is contrasting piping between the trim and outer fabric in dark blue.  The sleeves and back are pleated.  The chest and back are lined with paisley royal blue. A note that is not absolutely clear refers to "buttons below a concealed button placket,"  Gentlemen are exp...

By Aurelien Guichard from London, United Kingdom - Royal Courts of Justice, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curi d=62065074 Jane Lambert We should like to congratulate Mr Justice Birss and Mr Justice Nugee on their elevation to the Court of Appeal (see Courts and Tribunal Judiciary Appointment of Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal   31 July 2020).  Since Lord Justice Arnold's elevation, Mr Justice Birss has been the presiding judge of the Patents Court. We can expect a new appointment to replace him.  I have no inside information but I have a shrewd idea who that is likely to be. If I am right it will come as a surprise to many people. But I'm not saying. Mr Justice Nugee also sits in the Patents Court from time to time.   The last time I mentioned him was in my article on freezing injunctions (see Jane Lambert  Freezing Injunctions - Organic Grape Spirit Ltd v Nueva IQT, SL   29 July 2020 NIPC Law).  T...