Intellectual Property Law

Denmark is to update its copyright laws to give everyone a right to their own likeness and voice in response to the rise of AI-generated deepfakes. The Danish culture ministry announced last week that the move had been agreed by the three-party government coalition as well as six opposition parties,

Meta has secured a legal victory in a copyright case brought by a group of writers, including Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, who accused the company of unlawfully using their work to train its artificial intelligence models. The authors had alleged that Meta violated copyright law by using th

International intellectual property firm Stobbs has announced its expansion into the US. The business has grown since its founding in 2013 from a team of 18 to over 200 professionals, establishing offices in Dublin, London, Cambridge, Munich and Eindhoven.

William Fry's intellectual property team has walked away with two awards at the prestigious Managing IP Awards 2025 in London. The firm was named Irish Trademark Disputes Firm of the Year for the third year running, as well as winning Europe Impact Case of the Year for its work on Merck Sharp &

A number of illegal streaming services in Ireland have been shut down following a threat of criminal prosecution. The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) said it served legal notices on 13 illegal IPTV operators across Dublin, Cork, Donegal, Offaly, Limerick, Louth, Clare, Westmeath and Laois

IP law firm Bristows has appointed Naoise Gaffney as of counsel and UPC director in Dublin. The London-headquartered firm opened its Dublin office in September 2023 in response to the establishment of the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

It's all gone puff for Aldi, write Mason Hayes & Curran partner Gerard Kelly and senior associate John Milligan. The Federal Court of Australia has found Aldi liable for copyright infringement regarding certain artistic works used on the packaging for children’s food products. In reaching

Intellectual property specialist Lane IP, with an office on Dublin's North Wall Quay, has been acquired by Swedish-headquartered Abion. All offices and affiliated of Lane IP, which is based in the UK, will rebrand as Abion in September 2024 to support Abion's long-term ambition to build an internati

More than 27,000 unitary patents have been successfully registered by the European Patent Office (EPO) in the first year since the system was launched. Around 350 cases have so far been initiated before the Unified Patent Court (UPC), which enables centralised litigation not only for unitary patents

McDonald's has lost a trade mark battle with Supermac's over the extent of protections for the term 'Big Mac' in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Supermac's brought the proceedings after the US fast food giant successfully appealed a 2019 decision by the European Union Intellectual

Most in-house lawyers have yet to form an opinion for or against Ireland's participation in the new Unified Patent Court (UPC), a survey by Mason Hayes & Curran suggests. The business law firm surveyed 240 lawyers from various sectors, finding that two-thirds (66 per cent) had not decided how to

An alcohol charity has lost a UK trade mark battle over the term "Dry January". Alcohol Change UK (ACUK), previously known as Alcohol Research UK, registered the trade mark in 2014 but decided in 2022 to extend it into areas including drinks marketing.

McCann FitzGerald has secured three awards at the Managing IP EMEA Awards 2024 in London, including Practitioner of the Year for partner Fiona O’Beirne. Ms O'Beirne was recognised for her continued excellent work in the field of patent litigation and other intellectual property disputes. Her p

A referendum on Ireland's participation in the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will no longer take place in June, the government has said. Ministers previously announced in January that a referendum paving the way for Ireland to ratify the UPC agreement would take place alongside the European and local e

William Fry has been named Ireland's trademark disputes firm of the year for a second year running at the annual Managing IP Awards. Florence Meagher, a senior associate with William Fry who specialises in intellectual property law, also won the inaugural Ireland Rising Star of the Year award.