SkyKick goes to the Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal in proceedings between the well-known satellite TV broadcaster, Sky Ltd (“Sky”) and the UK company SkyKick UK Ltd (“SkyKick”).

Pliteq Inc & Anor v iKoustic Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 2564 (IPEC) (02 October 2020)

Appleyard Lees acted for the operator of an ecommerce website which successfully defended a High Court claim for trade mark infringement brought by its international suppliers, in one of the first trials held in the Intellectual Property & Enterprise Court remotely during the Coronavirus pandemic. The client recovered its legal costs in full up to the IPEC costs cap.

IP litigation in a pandemic – going digital?

This article explains how court proceedings in England and Wales can be conducted digitally and considers how the pandemic may result in permanent changes to working practices going forwards.

ECJ SkyKick case: Judgment provides welcome clarity for brand owners who had faced the spectre of defending invalidity actions for their existing trade mark registrations had the CJEU decided differently.

In a key ruling in case C-371/18 (“Skykick”), and a rare departure from the AG Opinion, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) has held that trade marks protected in relation to wide specifications of goods or services, such as the term “computer software” are not liable to be declared invalid, even where they are so […]

Do ‘trade secrets’ offer enough protection?

The product made according to a recipe can of course be seen, felt, tasted and touched – but the recipe itself, and the method by which it is manufactured, is intangible. Because these intangible elements of a product have tremendous commercial value, brands in the food and beverage industry go to great lengths to keep […]

The rise of patents in the health food industry

In the booming, ultra-competitive health food industry, now, more than ever, brand owners and manufacturers need to protect recipes and distinctive development processes from discovery by competitors. Traditionally, these elements would be kept confidential as trade secrets, a strategy that can be risky from a legal perspective. Also, because a recipe or method must not […]

Appeal has no power

In a judgment handed down on 11th April 2019, Mr Justice Birss ruled on an appeal from a decision (Decision) of the UK Trade Mark Registry (Registrar) brought by the Appellant Manpower Direct (UK) Ltd (MDUK). Manpower Group Inc (MPI) was the Respondent to the appeal. The judgment considers the principles applicable in cases involving […]