Recent cases

NOCN (Formerly National Open College Network) v Open College Network Credit4Learning [2015] EWHC 2667 (IPEC) (25 September 2015)25 September 2015This was an IPEC trial for trade mark infringement and passing off relating to the use of the Defendant of signs incorporating the name “OCN”. Jessie Bowhill was instructed by Virtuoso Legal for the Claimant. James St Ville was instructed by Geoffrey Leaver Solicitors LLP for the Defendant.
T & A Textiles Hosiery Limited v Hala Textile UK Limited [2015] EWHC 2888 IPEC24 September 2015Ashton Chantrielle appeared for the Defendants, Hala Textile. T&A Textiles alleged infringement of artistic copyright in the drawings of eleven floral bed linen designs and infringement of a UK registered design in respect of packaging. Hala Textile counterclaimed that the registered design was invalid and brought an action for groundless threats of proceedings for design […]
Absolute Lofts South West London Ltd v Artisan Home Improvements Ltd [2015] EWHC 2608 (IPEC)14 September 2015Tom Jones recently appeared for the Defendants, Artisan Home Improvements Ltd, in a 1 day IPEC trial on liability and quantum concerning photographic copyright. The claim was about photographs of loft conversions appearing on the Claimant’s website. It was alleged that the Defendants had copied those photographs and used them on their own loft conversions […]
Warner-Lambert v Actavis [2015] EWHC 2548 (Pat)10 September 2015This case concerned Warner-Lambert’s second medical use patent EP (UK) No. 0934061 with claims in Swiss form. The claims were directed to the use of the compound pregabalin for the treatment of pain. Warner-Lambert marketed pregabalin under the trade mark Lyrica for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Mylan and Actavis challenged the validity of the […]
Wobben v Siemens [2015] EWHC 2114 (Pat)20 July 2015Andrew Lykiardopoulos QC and James Abrahams appeared for the Claimant (“Wobben”) in this infringement and validity trial relating to Wobben’s patent concerning the operation of variable speed, variable pitch (“VSVP”) wind turbines at high wind speeds. James Whyte appeared as junior counsel for the Defendants (collectively “Siemens”) who denied infringement and claimed the patent was […]
VPG Systems UK Limited v Air Weight Europe Limited [2015] EWHC 1862 (IPEC)1 July 2015On 1 July 2015 his Honour Judge Hacon handed down judgment in VPG Systems UK v Air-Weigh Europe [2015] EWHC 1862 in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. The action concerned alleged infringement of VPG’s patent for a type of on-board vehicle weighing system which uses an accelerometer or inclinometer to measure the change in angle […]
The Sofa Workshop Ltd v Sofaworks Ltd [2015] EWHC 1773 (IPEC) (29 June 2015)29 June 2015John Baldwin QC and Fiona Clark appeared for Sofaworks Limited, the Defendant, in this community trade mark infringement and passing off claim brought by The Sofa Workshop Limited  concerning two word CTMs for ‘SOFA WORKSHOP’. Sofaworks counterclaimed for revocation for non-use and invalidity. HHJ Hacon held that both CTMs were invalidly registered and liable for revocation […]
Actavis UK Ltd & Ors v Eli Lilly & Company [2015] EWCA Civ 555 (25 June 2015)25 June 2015Richard Meade QC and Isabel Jamal represented the Respondents/Claimants, Actavis, in this declaration of non-infringement (‘DNI’) appeal relating to a patent held by the Appellant/Defendant, Eli Lilly. The Patent concerned the use of pemetrexed disodium in the manufacture of a medicament for use in combination therapy. Actavis sought to use other pemetrexed salts (‘the active […]
Hospira UK Limited v Genentech Inc [2015] EWHC 1796 (Pat)24 June 2015Members of chambers recently appeared in this third of a series of actions brought by Hospira in relation to Genentech’s patents in respect of trastuzumab, marketed by Genentech under the trade mark Herceptin. This action concerned Genentech’s patent claiming the use of trastuzumab in combination with a taxane for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer, […]
Smith & Nephew Plc v Convatec Technologies Inc [2015] EWCA Civ 607 (24 June 2015)24 June 2015James Mellor QC and Charlotte May QC appeared for the Respondent/Appellant and Third Parties, ‘Smith & Nephew’, in this appeal which related to the construction of the words ‘between 1% and 25%’ as contained in the claim of a patent owned by the Appellant, ‘Convatec’. The patent concerns a process of silverisation of gel-forming fibres […]