Insights

The EPO is changing the way that the deadline for responding to a communication, such as an examination report, is calculated.  The EPO’s “10-day postal rule” will not apply to communications issued from 1 November 2023, meaning that applicants will have a shorter period for responding to such communications.

Since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, major controversial changes have been implemented to the social media network and at the company itself, such as tweet viewing limits, purchasable blue ticks and mass staff lay-offs.  Trade Mark Assistant Nikolle Medford discusses Musk’s latest announcement, Twitter’s re-brand to “X”, and the existing trade mark rights in the letter X.

For many of us, the metaverse may still be a rather vague and distant concept. However, for businesses the metaverse offers new and as yet unexplored commercial opportunities that should not be overlooked. This article explores the potential benefits of the metaverse (and Web 3.0 more generally) for businesses, and highlights some of the intellectual property considerations and risks that are associated with a move into this space.

As a diverse and inclusive workplace, we are extremely proud of the support and development we offer our female employees. Today we celebrate International Women in Engineering day so what better time to highlight the achievements of the women in our Engineering team by taking the time to find out what inspired them to pursue a career in engineering, what they enjoy most about their career and the exciting areas of technology that are peaking their interest at the moment.

We interviewed Harriet Bird, Technical Assistant in our Manchester office:

Each year, to mark International Women in Engineering Day, we like to find out what motivated women in our network to pursue an education or career in science, technology, engineering and maths. In this special episode of the IP Podcast, Sarah Richmond (Senior Associate) interviewed Jessica Gagen, Aerospace Engineering Graduate, model and the reigning Miss England, about her journey to studying engineering and the importance of the female role model.

Alexandra Nott, Associate in the Dehns Trade Marks Group, discusses the Framework Cooperation Agreement signed by the IOC and the WIPO to promote the importance of IP rights for the international sports community.

Daniel Sanz Sharley, Technical Assistant in the Dehns Chemical Group, discusses the use of videoconference (ViCo) in oral proceedings held before the Boards of Appeal.

The UPC: the 5 Ws (and an H): Mark Bell, Partner at Dehns provides a thorough breakdown of the UPC.

After many years of planning, numerous stop-starts and a huge amount of hard work, it’s finally here: the Unified Patents Court (UPC), a game-changer in European patent law, is now open for business.

Nikolle Medford, Trade Mark Assistant at Dehns discusses some high-profile trade mark disputes and how they played out in the public eye.