A UK High Court ruling handed down in June 2012 will change the policies of the Metropolitan Police (the Met), particularly after they release suspects without laying charges. In a decision centering on privacy practices and the encroachment of the State, it was held that the private interests of two complainants were compromised under the […]
While North American IP enthusiasts had likely been pre-occupied with the controversy surrounding the stalled American anti-internet piracy bills known as SOPA and PIPA (covered by IP Osgoode here), Europe has been struggling to deal with the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Even though it was designed to be an international framework for improved intellectual property […]
The UK will likely be implementing new anti-piracy measures through the publication of a new code this month.
In November 2011, the Advocate-General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Yves Bot, issued an influential but non-binding legal opinion, positing that the functional aspects of computer programs should not be protected under copyright law. To do so would be against the interests of fair dealing, by preventing decompilation and reverse engineering, among other […]
As the author of the highly publicized decisions of Kerwhizz and Temple Island Collections, Judge Birss of the England and Wales Patent County Court (PCC) is no stranger to controversy. In his latest judgment, Suh v Ryu, Birss J appeared to settle a relatively straightforward procedural matter. Closer scrutiny reveals that his reasons are reflective […]
The issue at the heart of Sullivan v. Bristol Film Studios is not merely the trivial amount of damages. Instead, the analysis from this recent case puts the principle of proportionality front and centre.
Normally, doing something that breaks the law earns you a punishment, including a fine, community service, or even imprisonment. However, when Apotex Inc., a large generic pharmaceutical company, began producing and selling a drug that Servier Laboratories Limited, another large pharmaceutical company, had patented, Apotex was awarded $17.5 million.
In Slater v Wimmer [2012] EWPCC 7, a cameraman claims copyright infringement after a skydiver provided some footage of what was billed as “the first tandem skydive over Mount Everest” to a Danish television show. As an aside, it turns out the skydive occurred about 20 km away from Everest and the adventure company that […]
In July of 2008, William Kostuj filed an international patent application titled “Method Of Forming A Golf Swing And Equipment”. The UK Intellectual Property Office [IPO] has denied the application that sought to patent a means of developing a golfer’s swing style without the use of a golf club. The full decision may be read […]
On February 14th, 2012 following the High Court and Court of Appeal decisions, the UK Copyright Tribunal released an interim decision concerning the requirement of licensing agreements for media and news monitoring services in Meltwater Holding BV v The Newspaper Licensing Agency Limited. The Tribunal determined that services such as Google News and Alerts as […]