Never Too Late: If you missed the IPKat last week!

[Simone Lorenzi]

Never Too Late: If you missed the IPKat last week!

 Simone Lorenzi Friday, February 20, 2026 - #NeverTooLate, copyright, event report, IP, patents, plant varieties, Simone Lorenzi, trade marks

If you spent last week dodging Cupid’s arrows or simply taking a well-deserved nap, you might have missed a bumper week on the blog. Fear not: here is the IPKat's rapid-fire digest of the latest news.

Burning the midnight oil: This Kat scrutinises the week's diverse docket.

Copyright and Digital Platforms

Katfriends Jean-Sébastien Mariez and Laura Godfrin analysed twin decisions from the Paris Court of Appeal against X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the Court's firm stance on platform liability and data disclosure obligations under the French transposition of Article 15 of the DSM Directive.

Georgia Jenkins scrutinised the UK’s new automated decision-making (ADM) rules under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, arguing that the legislation may be a "missed opportunity" for creative fairness, potentially leaving artists vulnerable to algorithmic bias without adequate redress.

Patents and Plant Varieties

Katfriend Bastian Best reported on the EPO's recent "Search and Examination Matters 2026" conference, revealing an office in deep digital transformation where AI is central to the patent granting process.

Katfriend Michael A. Kock examined the implications of the Inari v. Corteva case in the US for plant varieties, arguing that relying on commercial availability to cure a lack of deposit in a patent application may be a risky strategy for biotech innovators.

Trademarks

Georgia Jenkins discussed the UK Supreme Court's ruling in Dairy UK v Oatly, in which the Court confirmed that "milk" cannot be used as a designation for non-dairy products and deemed "POST MILK GENERATION" invalid for failing to clearly describe a characteristic quality of the goods.

Marcel Pemsel commented on the German Supreme Court's H 15/Hecht H 15 decision, offering valuable sailing instructions on genuine use and whether a product code like "H 15" can function as an indicator of origin when used alongside a company name.

IP Events and Opportunities

Eleonora Rosati invited readers to celebrate UNION-IP's 65th anniversary at their upcoming congress in Amsterdam, noting a special discount available for IPKat readers.

Eleonora Rosati also highlighted the return of the Annual Conference on EU Law in the Pharmaceutical Sector in Brussels this March, which will cover the latest EU Pharma package and AI developments in health.

Georgia Jenkins updated readers on a range of key IP developments, news, and opportunities, including the launch of the WIPO World Intellectual Property Report 2026 and the final FairMusE conference.

Image credit: Gemini AI

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