• INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

England and Wales High Court (Patents Court) Decisions

TNS Group Holdings Ltd. v Nielsen Media Research Inc

In this action the claimant seeks revocation of the defendant's European Patent (UK) No. 1 213 860. The patent in suit relates to television audience management measurement systems. There is a significant market in the UK and elsewhere in Europe for such systems due to the fact that rates for television advertising are dependent on the number of viewers of a programme. The claimant has also entered an opposition against the same European patent at the European Patent Office. The patent in suit is a divisional of the defendant's European Patent (UK). That European patent was the subject of an earlier EPO opposition, in which the patent was maintained at first instance on 14 December 2005, but revoked on appeal on 6 March 2008. The claimant had issued UK revocation proceedings in respect of that parent patent on 5 December 2007, but those proceedings became redundant in the light of the decision of the EPO's Technical Board of Appeal.The present proceedings were commenced on 16 March 2009. By an application notice dated 1 April 2009 the defendant has applied to strike out the claim, alternatively for an order that it be stayed pending the resolution of the EPO opposition proceedings in respect of the divisional patent.

It was held that the claimant has a genuine interest in achieving commercial certainty and that it has put forward reasons for thinking that a judgment of this court would provide it with a degree of certainty that the licence which has been offered would not do. The present case is one in which a stay should be granted.

• CIVIL

England and Wales High Court (Patents Court) Decisions

Yvonne Campbell v Leeds United Association Football

This is an action for damages for a psychiatric injury allegedly caused to Mrs Campbell in the course of her employment with Leeds United AFC Limited ("Leeds United") by the negligence and/or breach of statutory duty of Leeds United. In this application Leeds United acting by its insurers seeks to strike out the Particulars of Claim as an abuse of process on grounds of res judicata or cause of action estoppel. In a nutshell Leeds United contend that the claim is an attempt to relitigate matters already determined or which ought to be determined by another Court of competent jurisdiction, that is to say the Leeds Employment Tribunal ("the Tribunal"). that there is no unjust harassment of Leeds United in permitting Mrs Campbell to bring these proceedings. Equally in all the circumstances it is not satisfactory that Mrs Campbell's conduct amounts to an abuse of the process of the Court. On the contrary it seems that it would amount to a denial of justice to Mrs Campbell to strike out the claim. Application is dismissed.