On 11 November 2004 the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center produced its decision on BAA plc v. Bob Larkin (case D2004-0555).

In late 2000, Axolin-Elinor (Factory Outlet) marketed a particular consignment of goods with the trade mark Peak Performance contending that Peak Holding had already offered the goods for sale and thus the trade mark rights were exhausted.

On 17 November 2004, the Chancery Division of the English High Court delivered its judgment in Lowden v Lowden Guitar Company Limited [2004] EWHC 2531 (Ch).

ITP had sued Coflexip in Scottish Courts for infringement of its patent for a heat insulated pipe-in-pipe assembly for use in pipelines to be laid on the seabed for the purpose of transporting oil products. ITP’s patent was held valid both before the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office and before the Lord Ordinary in Scottish proceedings.

On the 9 November 2004, the ECJ handed down its decisions in four cases dealing with the database sui generis right (Fixtures Marketing v Veikkaus, Fixtures Marketing v OPAP, Fixtures Marketing v Svenska Spel and The British Horseracing Board v William Hill).

The ECJ handed down its decisions on Belgium (18 November 2004, C-143/04) Finland (9 December 2004, C-56/04) and Sweden (18 November 2004, C-91/04).

On 16 November 2004, Poland withdrew its support for the EU draft Directive on the Patentability of Computer –Implemented Inventions. The Directive seeks to codify and harmonise different EU national laws for computer programs including the treatment of software patents.

A decision was given by Aldous LJ in the appeal by Smithkline Beecham against the decision of the Patents Court rejecting a claim of infringement of UK patent 2297550 against Apotex.

The European IP Bulletin from Arpil 2004