Knowledge
“If one is a master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time insight into and understanding of many things“– Vincent Van Gogh
The team at Virtuoso Legal are continually reviewing the field of intellectual property for impactful news and meaningful changes.
As a forward-thinking law firm, we seek in any given moment to be able to offer cutting-edge advice that reflects the constantly shifting status of the law.
As part of this process we produce weekly “IP Insights”, which catalogue significant changes in IP and their significance.
By Haydn Fox
12/06/20
Manchester United, Sega embroiled in trade mark battle over Football Manager Simulation game. Manchester United are suing the makers of the “Football Manager” video game series for unauthorised trade mark use relating to the club's name. The English Premier League side has taken legal action against the developers of the popular football management simulation for…
By Haydn Fox
12/05/20
Google must negotiate with French publishers on copyright: A French ruling compelling Google to negotiate with publishers over payments for content is said to be a cause of celebration for news organisations worldwide. France’s competition authority ordered the search engine giant to negotiate with publishers over payment terms for the use of their content in…
By Haydn Fox
11/05/20
Background The applicant in this dispute, Magic Box INT. Toys S.L.U. sought to register the figurative ‘Superzings’ trade mark for goods in Class 28 of the Nice classification, to extend protection over items such as toys, Christmas decorations and dolls. DC Comics opposed the application due to its pre-existing figurative ‘Superman’ EU trade mark, registered…
By Martin Douglas Hendry
09/04/20
a time to be especially cautious In these testing times, we are already seeing the impacts the resulting commercial squeeze has had a large number of businesses and individuals in the UK. The surrounding hardship may, unfortunately, present an opportunity for those more secure rights holders to impact wounded competitors through threats of litigation and…
By Haydn Fox
07/04/20
We are a quarter of the way through 2020, and whilst the world looks a lot different right now, there has been a lot going on in the world of IP. In this IP Top 10 this month, Lebron James gets hit with a copyright infringment for a photo, top entertainment companies have been told…
By Haydn Fox
10/03/20
Background The Claimant ('Response') designs and markets clothing; the Defendant ('EWM') is a major retailer of clothing with about 400 stores in the UK. This was a copyright dispute concerning the claimant Response’s ‘wave arrangement design’ and whether it qualifies as a work of ‘artistic craftmanship’ under section 4 (1)(c) of the Copyright, Designs and…
By Haydn Fox
05/03/20
We're already into the 3rd month of 2020, and there have being a lot of things going on this month in the world of IP. In this IP Top 10, Johnny Cash's estate has filed a trade mark infringement claim to a beer company, console giants Nintendo battle with Google, and so much more. Let's…
By Martin Douglas Hendry
03/02/20
2020 is well and truly underway, and there hasn't been a lull in proceedings! The same can be said for the world of IP. In this IP Top 10 we look at some of the developments slightly off the beaten track, which give an indication of IP's broader impact on the world at large. The big stories in this month's edition…
By Martin Douglas Hendry
29/01/20
Warner Music UK Ltd & Ors v Tunein Inc [2019] EWHC 2923 (Ch) (01 November 2019) Background On 1 November 2019, Justice Birss gave his decision in the case of Warner Music UK Ltd & Ors v Tunein Inc [2019] EWHC 2923 (Ch). This was a test case concerning copyright and the internet and how the copyright…
By Martin Douglas Hendry
20/01/20
Background This IP insight highlights how difficult it can be to uphold and enforce a Registered Design by exploring the recent case of Shnuggle Ltd v (1) Munchkin Inc. (2) Lindam Ltd. This case was held in the IPEC before HHJ Melissa Clarke and served to limit the scope of a registered design – to the colour…
By Martin Douglas Hendry
16/01/20
Unless you’ve been proverbially “living under a rock” for the past week or so, you’ve probably heard that Prince Harry and Princess Meghan have announced that they will be stepping away from formal Royal duties in the coming years. This has caused some consternation in various ranks (to say the least). Simply put, it’s taken…
By Martin Douglas Hendry
06/01/20
What do “Roquefort”, “Tequila” and “Champagne” have in common? First of all, yes – they’re all valuable brands. But these names are also used in marketing and strategic campaigns to exclusively differentiate: blue cheese from blue cheese made in a certain part of France sparkling white wine from sparkling wine made in a certain part…
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