News for August, 2024

The latest update to the Buy-to-Let Property Tax Handbook is now live for subscribers.

Vol 29, No 3 of Communications Law is now available for subscribers. 

The August issue of the Bloomsbury IP/IT Law Briefing is now available for subscribers. 

This month’s IP/IT Law Briefing summarises recent judgments from the England and Wales courts and the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

In the Patents Court, His Honour Judge Hacon has found a patent for a voltage regulator to be invalid for lack of inventive step in R2 Semiconductor, Inc v Intel Corporation (UK) Ltd & Anor [2024] EWHC 1974 (Pat).

Mr Justice Meade found that a second medical use patent for the use of the antibody ustekinumab to treat ulcerative colitis (UC) was obvious over a set of slides that presented the results of a clinical trial in Samsung Bioepis UK Ltd v Janssen Biotech Inc [2024] EWHC 1984 (Pat).

In Cloud Cycle Ltd v Verifi LLC & Anor [2024] EWHC 2001 (Ch), Recorder Douglas Campbell KC found no infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. The patent related to a method for calculating and reporting a property of concrete called slump in a concrete delivery truck.

The employee compensation litigation between Dr David Parsons and his former employee, Convatec, has moved one step closer to resolution, after Deputy Judge Pat Treacy ruled on how to identify the invention (Parsons v Convatec Ltd [2024] EWHC 2111 (Pat)).

His Honour Judge Cawson KC declined to grant an application for summary judgment in a case concerning the ownership of IP rights relating to software in point-of-sale cash registers (Clearcourse Partnership Acquireco Ltd & Anor v Jethwa & Ors [2024] EWHC 1964 (Ch)).

At the UPC, the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) ordered that a defendant company in China or Taiwan cannot, as a starting point, be served a statement of claim via a company within the same group based in a UPC member state (Daedalus Prime LLC v Xiaomi Communications Co., Ltd. et al (UPC_CoA_183/2024)).

In Sibio Technology Limited, Umedwings Netherlands B.V. v Abbott Diabetes Care Inc. (UPC_CoA_388/2024), the Court of Appeal ruled that only countries that have signed and ratified the UPC Agreement are contracting member states. An injunction extending to Ireland was therefore suspended.

In a case brought by Amycel against an unknown defendant, the local division of The Hague ruled that ‘mushroom strain is not considered to be excluded from patentability (Article 53(b) EPC)’ (Amycel LLC v Anonymous (UPC_CFI_195/2024)).

Finally, in Mathys & Squire LLP (UPC_CFI_75/2023), the Munich local division ruled that once UPC proceedings have come to an end (for example after a settlement), the balance of interests will normally favour granting access to written pleadings and evidence.

The title Irish Income Tax: 2024 by Tom Maguire is now live on BPrO for subscribers of Irish Tax.

Tom Maguire's annual publication on Irish income tax is the long-established leading authority in the area.

This tax essential, formerly known as Judge, is ideal for tax practitioners, accountants and tax lawyers. Indispensable in practice, it will help you to apply the relevant legislation with ease and precision.

It provides a complete analysis of the principles and practice of income tax in Ireland. It also provides an examination of recent key decisions by the courts both in Ireland and in the UK, as well as by the Tax Appeal Commissioners. This new edition is updated to Finance Act 2023.

Issue 77 of Business, the Internet and the Law is now available for subscribers. 

• Division 1 – Getting online in business
• Division 2 – The domain name and trade marks
• Division 3 – Copyright and database right
• Division 4 – Security, confidentiality and employment issues
• Division 5 – Buying web services
• Division 6 – Internet shopping

All of the above Divisions have been updated to reflect the latest legislative and case law developments.

Tables and Index

New main Tables of Cases, Statutes, Statutory Instruments and European Legislation and new main Index are included with this Issue.

Issue 87 of Termination of Employment is now available for subscribers. 

Issue 87 contains the following revisions:

• C1: Grounds for Dismissal
• D1: Remedies
• F1: Useful Addresses
• F4: Employment Tribunal Compensation Limits

The latest edition of Bloomsbury's Tax Rates and Tables 2024/25, which has been updated to reflect measures passed in the Finance (No 2) Act 2024, is now live for subscribers. 

O'Connor v Lackabeg Ltd [2024] IEHC 503 (High Court, Simons J, 13 August 2024)

The High Court has ruled that the two directors of a defendant company are personally liable for the legal costs incurred by the plaintiffs in their successful appeal for examination and discovery in aid of executing judgments. The original refusal of the Circuit Court to grant such relief was overturned, and the directors' opposition to the appeal was deemed unsuccessful, leading to the costs order against them. The court emphasised that the costs order pertains to the specific motions addressed to the directors and is not a general liability for the company's litigation costs. The costs associated with the appeal hearing are to be measured based on a single hearing, with no costs allowed for subsequent listings, except for specific instances outlined by the court.

Circuit Court – High Court – legal costs – appeal – execution of judgments – oral examination – discovery – directors' personal liability – Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 – Order 99 RSC – statutory interpretation – Circuit Court Rules – costs follow the event – interlocutory application – judgment creditors – company assets – fair procedures – Order 42 rule 38 RSC – Order 61 RSC – Practice Direction HC 101

The August issue of the Bloomsbury Cyber Law Briefing is now available for subscribers. 

The Fourth Edition of Employment Law in Europe is now available for subscribers.

Sets out key employment law considerations for each of the EEA countries, Switzerland, Norway and England and Wales.

A starting point for those needing an understanding of key aspects of the employment laws in Europe, providing an overview of the regimes and of the differences between the jurisdictions, on a country-by-country basis to allow the reader to locate, and compare key considerations for each country; identifying areas of risk, an understanding of timings and mandatory procedures.

This new edition covers developments in the domestic laws in the relevant jurisdictions, including:

• The shape of the European Union
• International trade
• Accepted ways of working, including remote working
• Technological advances