Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual property specialist Lane IP, with an office on Dublin's North Wall Quay, has been acquired by Swedish-headquartered Abion. All offices and affiliated of Lane IP, which is based in the UK, will rebrand as Abion in September 2024 to support Abion's long-term ambition to build an internati

More than 27,000 unitary patents have been successfully registered by the European Patent Office (EPO) in the first year since the system was launched. Around 350 cases have so far been initiated before the Unified Patent Court (UPC), which enables centralised litigation not only for unitary patents

McDonald's has lost a trade mark battle with Supermac's over the extent of protections for the term 'Big Mac' in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Supermac's brought the proceedings after the US fast food giant successfully appealed a 2019 decision by the European Union Intellectual

Most in-house lawyers have yet to form an opinion for or against Ireland's participation in the new Unified Patent Court (UPC), a survey by Mason Hayes & Curran suggests. The business law firm surveyed 240 lawyers from various sectors, finding that two-thirds (66 per cent) had not decided how to

An alcohol charity has lost a UK trade mark battle over the term "Dry January". Alcohol Change UK (ACUK), previously known as Alcohol Research UK, registered the trade mark in 2014 but decided in 2022 to extend it into areas including drinks marketing.

McCann FitzGerald has secured three awards at the Managing IP EMEA Awards 2024 in London, including Practitioner of the Year for partner Fiona O’Beirne. Ms O'Beirne was recognised for her continued excellent work in the field of patent litigation and other intellectual property disputes. Her p

A referendum on Ireland's participation in the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will no longer take place in June, the government has said. Ministers previously announced in January that a referendum paving the way for Ireland to ratify the UPC agreement would take place alongside the European and local e

William Fry has been named Ireland's trademark disputes firm of the year for a second year running at the annual Managing IP Awards. Florence Meagher, a senior associate with William Fry who specialises in intellectual property law, also won the inaugural Ireland Rising Star of the Year award.

A public consultation is seeking views on the introduction of geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products. An EU regulation which entered into force in November 2023 requires member states to put in place a legal framework for geographical indication (GI) protection for craf

IP law firm Powell Gilbert has promoted Bryce Matthewson and Peter FitzPatrick to partner, bringing the total number of partners across the UK and Irish firms to 15. The London-headquartered firm opened a Dublin office last summer to support its work in advising and representing clients before the n

Tesco has lost an English court appeal against a finding that its yellow-and-blue Clubcard logo infringed on the trade mark of rival supermarket chain Lidl. The High Court last year agreed with Lidl's argument that the Clubcard Prices logo led to a "perception of price matching by Tesco to Lidl", up

Intellectual property law specialist FRKelly has relocated to Dublin's Silicon Docks after more than five decades in Ballsbridge. The firm — previously based on Clyde Road, Ballsbridge — is now based in Waterways House, Grand Canal Quay, a multi-storey building designed and constructed t

A constitutional amendment allowing Ireland to participate in the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will take place in June. The government yesterday confirmed plans to hold the referendum alongside the European and local elections, with a bill to be brought to the Oireachtas as a matter of priority.

Cultural institutions are censoring research, learning and creativity because of the way they police the reuse of digital copies of out-of-copyright artworks and artefacts, a new study has warned. Cultural institutions have created a “mess” by claiming and enforcing new rights over the r

A writer of Lord of the Rings fan fiction has failed in a copyright case over the publication of his own sequel to the series. Demetrious Polychron published 'The Fellowship of the King' in September last year. He described it as a “pitch perfect” follow-up to the original trilogy.