Insights

The need to file evidence of use can crop up in many cases and the requirement to show historic use can cause problems for businesses. Preparation is critical to success.

Earlier this month, EUIPO’s Board of Appeal ruled on an opposition between German drink brand Jägermeister and French company Les Bordes over ownership of a stylised Hubertus stag.

The German Federal Constitutional Court has cleared the way for Germany to finally implement the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA). In so doing, the unitary patent and court system could come into being as of mid-2022.

International registration systems are an important route for the protection of designs. Anne-Catherine Schihin introduces a new tool to protect design rights in the countries of the former USSR.

By removing the need for prior approval by ANVISA, the patent process for pharmaceutical and biotechnology products has been shortened and associated costs reduced.

Unlike trademark registration systems, which are national or regional by nature, the internet offers a global and potentially limitless market. Businesses with the same or confusingly similar company or product names can face a considerable challenge to mitigate the risks of brand confusion online.

Owners of registered EU rights benefited from the automatic cloning of those rights onto the UK register at the end of the Brexit transition period, but pending rights were not similarly converted. Luke Portnow sets out the steps needed to be taken by 30 September to protect such marks in the UK.

Similarities in packaging between Howler’s stout beer and Nestlé’s MILO® chocolate milk hit the courts in Australia last month, with the case illustrating the need for trademark protection of visual branding elements, says Chantal Koller.

Last month, the General Court of the European Union achieved a new milestone when it handed down its first-ever judgement on a sound mark registration, presented as an MP3 file. Koen de Winder sets out the background and implications of the ruling.