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This report is a summary of important UK trade mark and design decisions that were rendered in 2020 (including a late 2019 case). First, the CJEU decision in Sky v. Skykick was finally handed down and the UK High Court took on board its ruling, which is very interesting bearing in mind the UK is now officially out of the EU. The claimant was successful on the ground of reputation and unfair advantage in Red Bull GmbH v. Big Horn Limited, which will be useful for owners of well-known brands who are trying to prevent lookalike products from being sold. Planetart LLC v. Photobox Ltd & Anor is a good reminder of the relevant law in trade mark infringement and passing off but is also a useful guide regarding the application of trade mark law in the field of mobile apps. Another classic infringement case is Sazerac Brands, LLC v. Liverpool Gin Distillery Limited where expert evidence was accorded significant weight and was key in the outcome of the case. Similarly, Merck KGaA v. Merck Sharp & Dohme relates to an infringement case but with a peculiarity: the rise of the internet which rendered the co-existence agreement in place between the parties no longer fit for purpose. Whilst 2020 was not rich in design court cases, it was certainly the year of non-conventional marks and other IP rights including collective marks and PDOs. Indeed, in Fromageries Bel SA v. J Sainsbury plc, a UK 3D mark accompanied by a colour description was cancelled due to the fact that the description was too broad, which is consistent with the Cadbury purple colour case. Another shape mark was cancelled in Jaguar Land Rover Limited v. Ineos Industries Holdings Limited, but this time because the mark had not departed significantly from the norms and customs of the sector and had not acquired distinctiveness through use. Moving away from shape marks, the UK High Court interpreted the scope of an EU Collective mark (probably for the last time) in Foundation for the protection of the traditional cheese of Cyprus named Halloumi v. Babel Sajt Kft and reminded us that the test for distinctiveness and confusion is not the same as for “normal” trade marks. The decision in Les Grands Chais De France SAS v. Consorzio Di Tutela Della Denominazione Di Origine Controllata Prosecco concerns the enforcement of a PDO and confirms the level of protection afforded by this IP right. Last but not least, Glencairn v. Product Specialities Inc does not discuss a specific IP issue but still concerns IP litigators and practitioners. This case addresses the issues of conflicts of interest, confidentiality and information barriers when a firm of solicitors acts for two unrelated parties in separate litigation with similar facts against a third party, where the first case is settled on confidential terms.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now pandemic worldwide and has heavily overloaded hospitals in Wuhan City, China during the time between late January and February. We reported the clinical features and therapeutic characteristics of moderate COVID-19 cases in Wuhan that were treated via the integration of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine. We collected electronic medical record (EMR) data, which included the full clinical profiles of patients, from a designated TCM hospital in Wuhan. The structured data of symptoms and drugs from admission notes were obtained through an information extraction process. Other key clinical entities were also confirmed and normalized to obtain information on the diagnosis, clinical treatments, laboratory tests, and outcomes of the patients. A total of 293 COVID-19 inpatient cases, including 207 moderate and 86 (29.3%) severe cases, were included in our research. Among these cases, 238 were discharged, 31 were transferred, and 24 (all severe cases) died in the hospital. Our COVID-19 cases involved elderly patients with advanced ages (57 years on average) and high comorbidity rates (61%). Our results reconfirmed several well-recognized risk factors, such as age, gender (male), and comorbidities, as well as provided novel laboratory indications (e.g., cholesterol) and TCM-specific phenotype markers (e.g., dull tongue) that were relevant to COVID-19 infections and prognosis. In addition to antiviral/antibiotics and standard supportive therapies, TCM herbal prescriptions incorporating 290 distinct herbs were used in 273 (93%) cases. The cases that received TCM treatment had lower death rates than those that did not receive TCM treatment (17/273 = 6.2% vs. 7/20= 35%, P = 0.0004 for all cases; 17/77= 22% vs. 7/9= 77.7%, P = 0.002 for severe cases). The TCM herbal prescriptions used for the treatment of COVID-19 infections mainly consisted of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, Radix Scutellariae, Rhizoma Pinellia, and their combinations, which reflected the practical TCM principles (e.g., clearing heat and dampening phlegm). Lastly, 59% of the patients received treatment, including antiviral, antibiotics, and Chinese patent medicine, before admission. This situation might have some effects on symptoms, such as fever and dry cough. By using EMR data, we described the clinical features and therapeutic characteristics of 293 COVID-19 cases treated via the integration of TCM herbal prescriptions and Western medicine. Clinical manifestations and treatments before admission and in the hospital were investigated. Our results preliminarily showed the potential effectiveness of TCM herbal prescriptions and their regularities in COVID-19 treatment.

Biomedical named entity recognition (BioNER) from clinical texts is a fundamental task for clinical data analysis due to the availability of large volume of electronic medical record data, which are mostly in free text format, in real-world clinical settings. Clinical text data incorporates significant phenotypic medical entities (e.g., symptoms, diseases, and laboratory indexes), which could be used for profiling the clinical characteristics of patients in specific disease conditions (e.g., Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)). However, general BioNER approaches mostly rely on coarse-grained annotations of phenotypic entities in benchmark text dataset. Owing to the numerous negation expressions of phenotypic entities (e.g., “no fever,” “no cough,” and “no hypertension”) in clinical texts, this could not feed the subsequent data analysis process with well-prepared structured clinical data. In this paper, we developed Human-machine Cooperative Phenotypic Spectrum Annotation System (http://www.tcmai.org/login, HCPSAS) and constructed a fine-grained Chinese clinical corpus. Thereafter, we proposed a phenotypic named entity recognizer: Phenonizer, which utilized BERT to capture character-level global contextual representation, extracted local contextual features combined with bidirectional long short-term memory, and finally obtained the optimal label sequences through conditional random field. The results on COVID-19 dataset show that Phenonizer outperforms those methods based on Word2Vec with an F1-score of 0.896. By comparing character embeddings from different data, it is found that character embeddings trained by clinical corpora can improve F -score by 0.0103. In addition, we evaluated Phenonizer on two kinds of granular datasets and proved that fine-grained dataset can boost methods’ F1-score slightly by about 0.005. Furthermore, the fine-grained dataset enables methods to distinguish between negated symptoms and presented symptoms. Finally, we tested the generalization performance of Phenonizer, achieving a superior F1-score of 0.8389. In summary, together with fine-grained annotated benchmark dataset, Phenonizer proposes a feasible approach to effectively extract symptom information from Chinese clinical texts with acceptable performance.

This report highlights key UK trade mark and design decisions from the past year that may be of particular interest to comparative lawyers. Sky v. Skykick may fundamentally change the approach to filings and enforcement within the EU system, and is a very interesting case to follow in view of Brexit. W3 Limited v. easyGroup Limited and another serves as useful guidance in respect of the threats provisions and highlights the difficulty and high bar involved in demonstrating acquired distinctiveness. Glaxo v. Sandoz reminds us of the need to strike a balance between the substantial costs involved in gathering survey evidence with the benefit it can bring to the Court. In relation to online matters, Argos Ltd v. Argos Systems Inc highlights another development in the UK courts’ approach to trade marks online, whilst Student Union Lettings Limited v. Essex Student Lets Limited (SULETS) concerned the application of the Sec. 11(3) Trade Marks Act 1994 defence. Walton International Limited and Giordano (Hong Kong) UK Limited v. Verweij Fashion BV was of note because it showed a level of discretion observed by the English courts with regards to the conduct of legal proceedings, and Massimo Osti SRL v. Global Design and Innovation Ltd raises important questions as to whether claims should be issued at the High Court or at IPEC. Henry Martinez t/a Prick & Another v. Prick Me Baby One More Time Ltd & Another highlights that, whilst localised goodwill can indeed exist, showing evidence of deception or confusion is crucial to be successful within a passing off case. In the designs space, L’Oreal Societe Anonyme & L’Oreal (UK) Limited v. RN Ventures Limited served as a useful reminder of the law on Registered Community Designs and the infringement assessment.

Chinese medicine (CM) was extensively used to treat COVID-19 in China. We aimed to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of add-on semi-individualized CM during the outbreak. A retrospective cohort of 1788 adult confirmed COVID-19 patients were recruited from 2235 consecutive linked records retrieved from five hospitals in Wuhan during 15 January to 13 March 2020. The mortality of add-on semi-individualized CM users and non-users was compared by inverse probability weighted hazard ratio (HR) and by propensity score matching. Change of biomarkers was compared between groups, and the frequency of CMs used was analyzed. Subgroup analysis was performed to stratify disease severity and dose of CM exposure. The crude mortality was 3.8% in the semi-individualized CM user group and 17.0% among the non-users. Add-on CM was associated with a mortality reduction of 58% (HR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.23 to 0.77, [Formula: see text] = 0.005) among all COVID-19 cases and 66% (HR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.76, [Formula: see text] = 0.009) among severe/critical COVID-19 cases demonstrating dose-dependent response, after inversely weighted with propensity score. The result was robust in various stratified, weighted, matched, adjusted and sensitivity analyses. Severe/critical patients that received add-on CM had a trend of stabilized D-dimer level after 3–7 days of admission when compared to baseline. Immunomodulating and anti-asthmatic CMs were most used. Add-on semi-individualized CM was associated with significantly reduced mortality, especially among severe/critical cases. Chinese medicine could be considered as an add-on regimen for trial use.

Previous studies evaluating the association of dietary fat and risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) yield discrepant results. The objective of this systematic review (SR) and meta-analysis is to establish whether an association exists between dietary fat and AMD. This protocol was developed in line with the quality requirements of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) statement. PubMed and EMBASE will be searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomized trials (NRTs), cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, and case-control studies that evaluate the total incidence of AMD. The data extraction content and quantitative analysis will be carried out systematically. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), the Cochrane risk of bias tool, and quality assessment tools will be used for quality assessment. This SR will synthesize evidence to determine if there is an association between dietary fat and AMD. The evidence would provide rationale for future research and serve as a basis for the development of future guidelines. Results are expected to be publicly available in mid 2020. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019137086.

This report highlights key UK trade mark and design decisions from the past year that may be of particular interest to comparative lawyers. The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision in the Kit Kat case, thereby confirming the rejection of the registration of the four bar Kit Kat. The decision was based on a very technical point regarding the assessment of acquired distinctiveness, and comparative lawyers will appreciate the divergence between the decisions of the UK and EU courts on this point. We are still awaiting the decision in Sky v. Skykick, where the trial judge rejected the defendant’s application for a pre-trial reference to the CJEU and refused to stay the infringement proceedings. This case concerned the application of the “own name” defence in UK trade mark infringement matters. In BMW v. Technosport, the courts addressed how use of a sign may “affect any of the functions of the trade mark”, and the case of Bhayani v. Taylor Bracewell provides further guidance around the ownership of goodwill as opposed to a mere reputation. The case of Merck v. Merck continued in 2017 and will carry on into 2018, with two pharmaceutical companies fighting over the use of the mark MERCK, particularly in cyberspace. The Court of Appeal remitted the case back to the High Court for consideration on a number of points. Caspian Pizza is a decision that will undoubtedly provide comfort to smaller businesses that have been operating within a particular locality and can establish corresponding localised goodwill. The issue of groundless threats was discussed again in 2017 in the case of Nvidia Corp v. Hardware Labs while the question about whether the sale of “grey goods” can give rise to criminal liability was discussed in R v. M, R v. C, R v. T. Online blocking injunctions were taken one step further in the Football Association Premier League case. The concept of a trade mark trolling was explored in the number of UKIPO Registry decisions involving Michael Gleissner, who sits as a director of companies that own a questionable number of trade marks and domain names. On the designs front, Neptune v. Devol Kitchens considered the scope of a UK design right following the Intellectual Property Act 2014.

This report highlights key UK trade mark and design decisions from the past year that may be of particular interest to comparative lawyers, especially in view of Brexit: the High Court handed down the decision in the “4 bar KitKat” decision, and despite the CJEU’s preliminary ruling, Arnold J supported the original UKIPO Hearing Officer’s decision, which used a slightly different test in relation to acquired distinctive character. In the Glaxo “purple inhaler mark” case, bound by previous UK case law, the UK courts found the mark in question to be invalid, although it is questionable whether the EUIPO would have come to the same conclusion. Following the reasoning in the four bar KitKat decision, the High Court comes to a similar conclusion in the Metrocab taxi shape mark case, highlighting the difficulties brand owners face in obtaining rights in and enforcing 3D trade marks in the current UK landscape. In 2016, Cadbury was dealt a blow when it attempted to delete the invalid wording in its description and this was refused by the UKIPO. The interplay between UK and EU law came to light again in the Court of Appeal’s decision in Comic Enterprises Ltd, where it was held that the UK series mark provision is compatible with EU law. Declarations of non-infringement featured in two cases whilst the jurisdiction of the courts to overturn the decision of a UDRP panliest was a topic of concern in 2015 and revised in 2016. George East Housewares was an unsuccessful “get up only” passing off claim, despite use since 1934, and on the designs front, the Supreme Court handed down its judgement in relation to a RCD between the makers of Trunki and Kiddee suitcases.

Background: To analyze the clinical features of convalescent individuals with novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia (novel coronavirus pneumonia) at rehabilitation station in Wuhan. Methods: 712 patients in the convalescence period of novel coronavirus pneumonia isolated and observed at the rehabilitation station were investigated by collecting their basic data, clinical syndrome features, and tongue manifestations. The clinical syndrome features were analyzed based on guidelines of Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Novel Coronavirus-infected Pneumonia (National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China, 7th Trial Edition). Results: Cough (24.86%), chest tightness and shortness of breath (23.17%), and fatigue (16.57%) were the main symptoms of patients in the convalescence period of novel coronavirus pneumonia. Their tongue appearance was mostly characterized by redness (88.65%), thick coating (67.25%), greasy coating (49.78%) and white coating (76.86%). Conclusion: Compared with the ordinary / mild patients, cough and anorexia symptoms were more common in the severe / critical patients. In convalescent patients, red and fat tongue with thick greasy fur were common.

As bank loans are a dominant source of external finance for corporations around the world, especially in transition economies, the banking industry plays an important role in guiding enterprises to cleaner production. It is of great practical significance to investigate the governance mechanisms that affect bank environmental lending to promote environmentally friendly enterprises and environmental protection. Building on legitimacy theory, this study examines the relationship between ownership concentration and bank environmental lending. Using an unbalanced panel dataset of China’s city commercial banks from 2008 to 2015, the empirical results show that ownership concentration is positively associated with bank environmental lending. Institutional pressures that stem from government support and media coverage can positively moderate the relationship between ownership concentration and bank environmental lending. In addition, the positive moderating effect of government support is more pronounced in state owned banks, while the moderating effect of media coverage only exists in private banks. These findings indicate that concentrated ownership is advantageous when it comes to bank environmental responsibility. Moreover, media coverage can be an effective supplementary mechanism of government support in promoting bank environmental performance. This novel study enriches the body of existing theoretical research on bank environmental performance and contributes to improving bank governance and their environmental protection practices.

Graphical abstract, Background With the global epidemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), China has made progress in the prevention and control of the epidemic, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played a key role in dealing with the disease’s effects on the respiratory system. This randomized controlled clinical trial evaluated the clinical efficacy and prognosis of Huoxiang Zhengqi dropping pills and Lianhua Qingwen granules in patients with COVID-19. Methods A total of 283 patients participated in this clinical trial, and participants were randomly assigned to receive either 1) Huoxiang Zhengqi dropping pills and Lianhua Qingwen granules or 2) Linahua granules, both combined with western medicine, or 3) western medicine alone for 14 days. At the end of the trial, the improvement and resolution rates of clinical symptoms and the rate of patients who progressed to severe disease status were evaluated. Results After 14 days of treatment, there was no significant difference in the improvement rate of clinical symptoms among the three groups (P > 0.05). Huoxiang Zhengqi dropping pills combined with Lianhua Qingwen granules has advantages in the treatment of nausea, vomiting and limb soreness. During treatment, all participants were treated with western medicine, and there was a significant difference in the use of macrolides among the three groups (P 0.05). However, the proportion of patients who progressed to severe disease in the Huoxiang + Lianhua group was the lowest, suggesting that the combination of TCM with western medicine has a potential advantage in improving the prognosis of patients with COVID-19. Conclusion The use of Huoxiang Zhengqi dropping pills and Lianhua Qingwen granules combined with western medicine may have clinical advantages for COVID-19 patients in improving clinical symptoms, reducing utilization rate of anti-infective drugs, and improving patient prognosis, which could pave the way for the use of complementary medicine in treating this infection.

This report highlights key UK trade mark and design decisions from the past year that may be of particular interest to comparative lawyers: through litigation which began years ago, we are given further guidance from the courts in terms of both inherent and acquired distinctive character. Many of the cases to be discussed shed further light on passing off and we are given further direction in terms of goodwill. Enhanced distinctive character and survey evidence are also discussed. Furthermore, we also review a case which featured defendants engaging in deceptive activities in scamming rights holders. Another case to be discussed ultimately prevailed because of the own name defence, but how this will square with the EU Trade Mark Reforms will be a question for 2016. The genuine use of a mark and groundless threats also feature in our discussion. As always, the context of a trade mark’s use is found to be crucial in infringement proceedings. Finally, a trend that is apparent this year is the desire for our judges to take into account factors that might be described as relating to “unfair competition” when determining issues of trade mark infringement, despite the fact that the lack of an actual law of unfair competition in the UK has often been described as a weakness of our system.

Switched reluctance motor (SRM), which has simple construction, high reliability, high efficiency and low cost, has shown its strong competition in many fields. However, mechanical position sensors add to the cost, complexity and potential unreliability at high speed. This paper presents an approach of rotor position estimation for switched reluctance motor based on support vector machine (SVM). For the nonlinear property of SRM, this approach takes advantage of SVM with better solution for small-sample learning problem and well generalization property. Through the off-line training, a better support vector machine structure in which phase current and phase flux linkage are inputs and the corresponding position is the output, is built with to form an efficient nonlinear mapping, and then it facilitates the rotor position estimation. The simulation and experimental results show that this method can achieve correct rotor position estimation, and thus the sensorless control of SRM is realized.

The switched reluctance motor (SRM) has obtained great potential as an adjustable speed application due to its outstanding merits. However, its application is limited because of the rotor position sensors and torque ripple. This paper proposes an approach to tackle sensorless control and torque ripple minimization of SRM by using flexible neural networks (FNN) which have many great advantages, such as less nerve cells and quick learning speed. Two FNN are built: through measurement of the phase flux linkages and phase currents, the first one is able to estimate the rotor position, thereby facilitating elimination of the rotor position sensor. The second one is for the estimation of the reference currents with a desired torque, then the real currents in the armatures are adjusted according to the reference values, therefore the torque ripple generated by the non-ideal current waveforms is minimized for a sensorless SRM. Simulation and experimental results illustrate the improvements of the proposed method compared with traditional controller.