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Eleanor Vance-Hartley
IP & Legal Affairs Correspondent
Former intellectual property litigator turned legal correspondent. Covers patents, copyright, trade secrets, and the collision between AI innovation and the law that hasn't caught up.
15 articles published
The Trademark 100 Weekly: J&J Leads a Filing Sprint That Maps Five Companies' Strategic Intentions
This week's Trademark 100 data reveals Johnson & Johnson, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, and Disney filing at a combined pace that signals pipeline launches, AI infrastructure builds, and platform territory grabs - not routine housekeeping.
6 min read
Trademark Squatters Are Coming for Your E-Commerce Business - And Your Supply Chain Knows the Way In
China's first-to-file trademark system has become a precision weapon against foreign e-commerce brands. Reform is coming. It isn't here yet.
6 min read
The Trademark 100 Weekly: Tech Giants Mobilise Brand Defense as AI Race Intensifies
Apple's 53 filings this week signal major AI product launches while Disney's gaming push reveals the streaming wars' newest battlefield
2 min read
USPTO Reverses Course on AI Inventorship, UK Supreme Court Rewrites Software Patent Law
Two landmark developments reshape AI patent strategy across jurisdictions, creating new opportunities and enforcement risks for innovators
3 min read
Brexit Trade Mark Grace Period Expires: 1.4 Million UK Rights Now Face Non-Use Cancellation
Five years after creation, comparable UK marks lose EU-use shield as first wave of revocation challenges begins materialising
4 min read
Brexit's Final Bite: How Evidence Shifts and Fee Hikes Are Forcing IP Attorneys to Rebuild Trade Mark Workflows
From January 2026, UK cloned trade marks lose EU use protection while UKIPO fees rise 25% and SkyKick guidance reshapes examination. For IP attorneys, it's retool or risk client exposure.
3 min read
UK Trade Mark Clones Face First Non-Use Revocations as Brexit Grace Period Ends
Two million comparable UK marks can no longer rely on EU use for defence - exposing unaware owners to competitor attacks and enforcement failures
3 min read
UKIPO Filing Surge Masks Register Clutter as Front Companies Drive Record Numbers
Behind the headline boom: why record trademark filings may signal heightened clearance risk, not market health
2 min read
UK Trade Mark Revocation Wave Begins as Brexit Grace Period Expires
Thousands of comparable UK trade marks face non-use challenges as five-year EU-use protection ends
3 min read
USPTO Director Squires Ends AI Patent Wars - But Courts Haven't Surrendered
New guidance reverses years of hostile examination, yet Federal Circuit maintains strict Alice/Mayo enforcement for software patents
2 min read
Supreme Court Silence on AI Authorship Leaves Human Requirement Intact
The Court's denial of certiorari in Thaler v. Perlmutter settles - for now - that machines cannot be copyright authors, but leaves fundamental questions about AI-assisted creativity unanswered
3 min read
UKIPO Fee Surge Doubles Down on UK Attorneys as Chinese Front Company Filings Escalate
Two months into the UKIPO's first trademark fee increase since 1998, UK IP attorneys face a perfect storm: 25% higher official costs colliding with an unabated surge of low-quality Chinese front company filings that are clogging clearance searches.
3 min read
Supreme Court Abandons Aerotel Test, Signals New Era for AI Patent Protection
UK's highest court ditches two decades of computer program exclusions, lowering the bar for AI inventions while creating fresh uncertainty around the inventive step standard
3 min read
USPTO's AI Patent Reset Under Squires Shows Promise Despite Examiner Resistance
New Director's policy shifts signal a more patent-friendly stance for AI inventions, but internal skepticism and litigation pressure persist
3 min read
USPTO Hands AI Tools to Examining Attorneys in July - What It Means for UK Practice
Internal generative AI deployment at USPTO creates procedural precedent as UKIPO accelerates own digital transformation
2 min read