NIPC News

"The Vampire" Philip Burne-Jones  Jane Lambert "Will nothing kill off the Unified Patent Court?" some might ask.  One would have thought our government's volte-face on British participation in the Unified Patent Court agreement would have been pretty lethal (see Jane Lambert Volte-Face on the UPC Agreement 29 Feb 2020). If that was not enough to kill it off the German Constitutional Court's decision in 2 BvR 739/17 ( Re the UPC Agreement) was like a stake through the heart. And yet the UPC refuses to die.  On the day after the Constitutional Court had delivered its judgment, the Preparatory Committee commented: "Despite the fact that the judgement will result in further delay the preparatory work will continue, while the judgement and the way forward is further analysed." Not even the COVID-19 pandemic will daunt them:  "work will move forward using all available resources to keep the momentum." As I said in...

Jane Lambert While hardly unexpected. the confirmation given yesterday to Joff Wild  and others that "the UK will not be seeking involvement in the UP/UPC system." is nonetheless regrettable.   No country stood to gain more from the Unified Parent Court and the unitary patent than the UK because it would have reduced considerably the costs of patent prosecution in Europe and patent enforcement in the UK.  That is why both the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property  and the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth  urged HM government to push for a single European patent for the UK and other EU member states with a unified court for the resolution of disputes over such patents. The excuse given to Mr Wild and other journalists for this country's volte-face is that: "Participating in a court that applies EU law and bound by the CJEU is inconsistent with our aims of becoming an independent self-governing nation.” That was ju...

Jane Lambert I have been invited to speak ar MBL's IP for Commercial Lawyers - 2018 Conference  which will take place in London between 09:30 and 17:15 on 27 Nov 2018.  The conference will cover a wide range of topics from basic concepts to the effect of Brexit on IP rights.  My topic is " Patents - What happens after Brexit£  which will address the thorny question of whether there is any chance that the Unified Patent Court will ever open its doors. As brands , designs  and  plant varieties  can be protected throughout the European Union by EU trade marks , registered  and unregistered Community designs  and Community plant variety rights  and as much of our national trade mark, registered design, copyright, trade secrecy and patent law has been harmonized by EU directives, our withdrawal from the EU will have far-reaching consequences for British businesses which I have charted in my Brexit blog . Recently the go...

Curate's Egg Author  George du Maurier Jane Lambert The dialogue between the curate and his bishop runs as follows: Bishop: "I'm afraid you've got a bad egg, Mr Jones"; Curate: "Oh, no, my Lord, I assure you that parts of it are excellent!"  The white paper on  The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union   has not satisfied many people on either side of the Brexit debate, but it is not all bad.   In fact, just like the curate's egg two parts of it could well be described as excellent. One is a commitment at para 148 to: "explore a new bilateral agreement with the EU, which would cover a coherent package of rules on jurisdiction, choice of jurisdiction, applicable law, and recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil, commercial, insolvency and family matters. This would seek to build on the principles established in the Lugano Convention and subsequent developments at EU level i...

Jane Lambert I mentioned the IPAN World IP Day conference in Happy World Intellectual Property Day   earlier today.  I knew that the Minister would speak at the event but I did not know that he would announce British Ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement .  But that is precisely what happened (see  Sam Gyimah announces ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement   26 April 2018 IPO). That does not mean that the Unified Patent Court will open its doors any time soon or that the UK can remain party to the agreement after Brexit.  The German Constitutional Court has still to hear and determine a constitutional complaint by the German IP lawyer, Dr Ingve Björn Stjerna, on the constitutionality of the UPC Agreement and that may take more than the 11 months in which the UK remains a member of the EU (see  One Year to Brexit - Are Rumours of the Death of the Unified Patent Court Agreement Greatly Exaggerated?   29 March ...

Jane Lambert I have been invited by the  Centre for Commercial Law Studies  of Queen Mary University of London to speak at its “Implications of Brexit on Intellectual Property Law” seminar at 67-69 Lincoln's Inn  Fields  between 18:00 and 20:00 on 12 Feb 2018. The email containing my invitation states: "The event provides a unique opportunity to address the important issues and implications in the area of Intellectual property in a post-Brexit era; and to provide a platform of controversy and conversation amongst top practitioners, academics and researchers. The speakers can choose a topic of their interest to be presented for approximately 15 minutes at the event." My topic will be the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court   and the fading prospects of our participating in the project.  Although many German lawyers tell me that there is nothing in the constitutional challenge to German ratification of the Unified Patent...

Doing Business After Brexit A Practical Guide to the Legal Changes By:   Helen Tse Jane Lambert Yesterday the Rt Hon David Davis MP  introduced the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill  into the House of Commons and his Department announced a flurry of position papers  and guidance on the Bill. On the same day, The Commission's Taskforce on Art 50 Negotiations  published an even bigger pile of position papers ranging from atomic energy  to parallel imports . There could not be a better time for the publication of Doing Business After Brexit , a practical but comprehensive guide to the legal changes edited by Helen Tse . The book consists of 13 chapters covering every area of law covering everything from Commercial Contracts to Tax. I have contributed the chapter on Intellectual Property and Data Protection.  I have written it in the way that I write this blog, with the business owner or manager very much in mind. On 29 Marc...

Author Copyleft Licence AIGA Source Wikipedia Jane Lambert In her speech on  National and International-level concerns and developments regarding the IP landscape   which she delivered on 29 June 2016 to the British group of European Practitioners in Intellectual Property, Lady Neville-Rolfe, the Minister for Intellectual Property said: "The UK has one of the world’s best intellectual property environments. The changes that will be triggered by the outcome of last Thursday’s vote will not alter that. You can continue to expect outstanding, professionally delivered rights granting services including design rights; and copyright owners can expect that the framework will support creativity. The UK will continue to be envied around the world for the quality of its enforcement environment. We will continue to lead in international IP discussions. We will continue our work to build an environment that allows innovative and creative businesses across the U...