In our news post around this time last year here we reported that the Irish Government was to hold a Constitutional Referendum with the goal of amending the Constitution to enable a new Court of Appeal interposed between the High Court and the Supreme Court to be established. The referendum succeeded in October 2013 with [...]

Flexibility in prosecuting certain European patent applications is currently restricted by the inability to obtain a search report for claims which the EPO considers to relate to more than one invention.  In such cases, the EPO searches the invention first presented in the claims and raises a lack of unity objection for all other claims. [...]

We mark the recent passing of an outstanding scientist and inventor Stephanie Kwolek on June 18th 2014 in her 91st year. Ms. Kwolek was a researcher for several decades at DuPont, where she was engaged in the development of new fibres. Most famously, in 1965 she and her team developed the polymer commonly known as [...]

Abstract ideas and pure methods of doing business have for some time been excluded from patentability in the United States. On 19th June 2014 the United States Supreme Court handed down its Decision in Alice Corp. v CLS Bank International, which involved a method for performing a financial transaction, and has unanimously ruled that abstract ideas and business methods, even [...]

Following up on our post in April 2014 this year, we can now confirm that the CJEU has ruled in the proceedings Of Karen Millen Fashions Ltd v Dunnes Stores, Dunnes Stores (Limerick) Ltd on how so-called “individual character” of a design is to be assessed.  The decision has just been posted on the Curia website. The Supreme [...]

In June last year we posted an article on the UK Intellectual Property Bill 2013 (https://maclachlan.ie/uk-intellectual-property-bill-2013).  On 2nd April 2014 the House of Lords agreed the amendments made to the Bill in the House of Commons and the Bill now only requires the Royal Assent to become law.  This post comments on changes to design [...]

The long-running dispute between British fashion house Karen Millen and the well known Irish retailer, Dunnes Stores, has moved a step closer to resolution.  “Not before time”, some might say, since the case relates to women's clothing originally sold by Karen Millen in 2005.  Karen Millen claimed that it was the owner of unregistered Community [...]

On Sunday March 16th 2014, Peter MacLachlan appeared on Today FM on the Sunday Business Show with Conall O’Morain to discuss the Registration of slogans as Trade Marks. Listen to the podcast here: http://www.todayfm.com/player/podcasts/The_Sunday_Business_Show/Sunday_Business_Show/12644/1/own_your_very_own_slogan

With effect from 1st March 2014, Ireland has formally acceded to the London Agreement. In practice, it has been possible since 3rd September 2012 to avoid filing any translation where a European Patent is granted in the German or French languages, as changes to Ireland’s national laws effective from that date dispensed with the requirement [...]

The European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are referred to as the IP5 Offices. The IP5 PPH pilot programme commenced on 6th January 2014 and will continue for [...]