The patent law in the U.K. has come under fire after a company filed a lawsuit claiming it is being sued by Google for patent infringement.
The suit alleges that the U,K.
government and other interested parties are infringing on intellectual property rights by using the terms “Google patent,” “Google Internet” and “Google Patent Office” without permission, according to a press release from Intellectual Ventures, the law firm that filed the suit.
The firm says it is seeking damages in the hundreds of millions of pounds and a “significant amount of actual and constructive damages” for patent violations.
The U.KS.
Office for Intellectual Property (OIP) was previously the lead plaintiff in the case.
Intellectual Ventures has since been granted a new case number, Patent No. 1:007910, which means the firm’s lawyers have filed suit in the European Union.
The case involves a U. K. law that applies to patents owned by companies in the United Kingdom, which includes Google.
The patent in question covers a method of scanning a scanned image using a digital image processor and is part of a broad class of patents.
Intellectual and the UK. governments have argued that the terms are not trademarked, but the court is expected to rule in the company’s favor.
“This case highlights that patent law is not a zero-sum game,” Intellectual Ventures CEO David Wittenberg said in the press release.
“The United Kingdom and the European Commission have long fought to stop companies from abusing their intellectual property and that includes trademarking their names.
It’s no surprise that this is an issue that the court will weigh in on.”
