Strategy

Latest joint study by the EU Intellectual Property Office and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates the annual value of international trade in counterfeit and pirated goods to have reached €460 billion by 2016.

Former American rock band Nirvana recently filed an action for copyright infringement against fashion label Marc Jacobs, after it launched its Bootleg Redux Grunge collection, featuring designs that resemble the band’s iconic smiley face.

Social media channels, such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, are overtaking online auction sites as the biggest online platforms for counterfeit activity.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks found to be sufficiently distinct for ‘Iceberg’ trademarks to be allowed to co-exist.

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, with Canada the latest country to deposit an instrument of accession at WIPO.

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.

So much of Brexit is up in the air, including the date when the UK’s exit from the EU will even occur. We summarise what we know so far, and how businesses should prepare.

We previously covered the need for businesses to establish a clear and consistent strategy for registering and renewing domain names. For UK businesses with .eu domain name registrations, 29 March 2019 (‘Brexit day’) adds a further deadline.

Although the CJEU recently ruled that the flavour of a cheese spread is not eligible for copyright protection, advances in the technology used to electronically describe odours and flavours could overcome legal obstacles to their protection in the future, say Chantal Koller and François Grange.

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?

As is usually the case with IP, it saves time and money over the longer term if a strategy is in place in advance of a brand takeover or launch. The same is true when two businesses merge.

The European Commission and UK negotiators reached an agreement on the entirety of the Brexit Draft Withdrawal Agreement on 14 November. Next it needs to get through UK parliament and the rest of the EU.