Welcome to Greenshoots

Greenshoots is a collection of fresh intellectual property insight, analysis and commentary on the issues that matter most to those who invent, manage and protect intellectual property, written by the IP specialists of Appleyard Lees.

Now that you’re here, why not take a look around?

Patents

Someone’s copying my invention! What should I do?

What do you do if, before you have obtained a granted patent, a third party starts selling a product that looks like your invention? Is there anything you can do to stop the third party? Does your patent application provide you with any rights before the patent is granted? Parminder Lally and Simon Ambroz answer these questions.

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IP Strategy

Oppositions by a straw person

In European patent oppositions, the term “straw person”, is used to describe a person, natural or legal, who files an opposition against a patent on behalf of a third party, with the third party, the real opponent, remaining anonymous throughout the proceedings.

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Legal Update

Plant varieties post Brexit: how to protect your variety in the UK

Brexit has changed the way intellectual property rights are sought and protected, in many ways. Pre-Brexit, anyone seeking to protect plant varieties in the UK and/or EU member states made a single application to the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO); however, as of 1 January 2021, this is no longer possible.

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