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The administrative procedure for obtaining a patent in Japan is similar to that of most other patent systems, and includes the examination of novelty, inventive step and industrial application of the invention.
What is the scope of protection for a two-letter trademark? Novagraaf’s Frouke Hekker examines the implications of a recent EU General Court ruling.
The UK’s Minister for Intellectual Property, Sam Gyimah MP, confirmed on 26 April that the UK has ratified the Unified Patent Court (UPC) agreement.
The number of countries and regions joining the international system for trademark registration on the basis of the Madrid Convention and its Protocol, continues to grow.
While the entry into effect of the GDPR at the end of May might be music to the ears of privacy advocates, brand owners and trademark attorneys could be hearing a rather less pleasant tune.
The courts in the US and EU have differed in their approach to the sensitive issue of potentially offensive or immoral trademarks.
It is now only 12 weeks until the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, with the hosts taking on Saudi Arabia match on 14 June. Novagraaf’s Claire Jones examines the IP implications of this headline-grabbing event.
In its Decision T 1311/13 of 17 January 2018 (re: EP 1 224 299), the EPO’s Board of Appeal has provided clarification as to late-filed requests in appeal proceedings.
Love them or hate them, Crocs footwear has been popular since its launch in 2002 with a number of celebrity endorsements. Inevitably, this popularity has led to a number of copycat designs.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has encountered a setback in its attempt to bar non-Scottish distilleries from using the word ‘Glen’ in their product names.
AB InBev has announced plans to temporarily rebrand ‘JUPILER’ as ‘BELGIUM’ in support of the ‘Red Devils’, Belgium’s national football team, in the forthcoming 2018 World Cup. Novagraaf examines the trademark implications.
The judgment of the Court of Cassation of 6 December 2017, in the case between TEVA and MERCK (patent owner), is the outcome of a long and complex affair concerning the nullity of the French part of the European Patent (EP) n°0724444 describing a dosage regime.