Global

As the coronavirus spreads, so too do related trademark applications. It’s only the latest example of how registrations follow medical and political news.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) held its 66th Annual General Meeting in Montreal earlier this month. Trademark Attorney Laurence Rivière provides a summary of the hot topics under discussion.

In September 2019, it was announced that Israel, Samoa and Vietnam deposited instruments of accession to the international design system at WIPO. Last year, Canada, Belize and San Marino also joined.

Integrating the GDPR into the daily life of a business is a far from obvious matter. Developing employees’ awareness of the GDPR and training them to apply it to their daily work is a key element of the process. Anca Draganescu-Pinawin explains why.

On 27 September, yet another country deposited its instrument of accession; Malaysia. This means that Malaysia can be designated in an international trademark registration (IR) as of 27 December 2019.

The wine and spirits sector has had a busy first half of 2019 in trademark terms. Florence Chapin picks some highlights from around the globe.

The Vita Group has recently been successful in its ongoing dispute over the registration of the descriptive term ‘Talalay’. Vanessa Harrow sets out the ruling and the steps businesses can take when faced with a similar issue.

The Chinese government is seeking to create a more favourable climate for investment and innovation by tightening its trademark legislation. 

Brand owners have long complained about the ease with which counterfeiters are able to sell fake goods in online sites such as Amazon. Now, the retailer has announced plans to introduce serial numbers and improve automatic detection to curb such sales.

Domain name management usually sits outside the IP department with marketing and/or IT teams. Those departments may have been schooled in the need to consult the IP team as part of the domain name registration strategy, but what about decisions as to ongoing maintenance, gaps in protection or decisions to lapse registered domains?

The number of countries and regions joining the international system for trademark registration on the basis of the Madrid Agreement and its Protocol, continues to grow. Malawi is the latest country to deposit an instrument of accession

The copying of fashion and clothing designs is so endemic it appears almost accepted. But, a designer’s creative output is their intellectual property and should be protected as such. We set out tools for protection.