Whether referred to as image rights, personality rights, right of publicity, portrait rights or simply likeness, having control over the use of your “image” can be an important right that – in one way or another and to various degrees – is respected in most jurisdictions. This is particularly true for persons whose image has…
The parodist could not rely on First Amendment protection because it used the famous sneakers as a source identifier. The maker of a sneaker that parodied a famous brand of skateboard-friendly kicks was not entitled to First Amendment protection against a claim of trademark infringement because it used the trade dress of the original as…
Many of us who have done a PhD, remember that time around the beginning of the second year when anxiety and insecurity start substituting the passion and enthusiasm. We all needed a safe space and a friendly encouraging forum to reassure us that having your own research project is a worthwhile endeavour. To help inspire junior…
The marks are generic both as to “Carnival” and the geographic locations “St Thomas” and “Virgin Islands.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a lower court decision denying the Virgin Island Carnival Committee (“VICC”) preliminary injunction to enjoin the Virgin Island Department of Tourism from using the phrases “St. Thomas Carnival”…
If the third-party marks and opposer’s marks are identical, the opposer’s marks and the applicant’s marks are compared to see if they are identical or non-identical for identical goods or services. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal…
The trade dress of a wedge-shaped candy, colored to resemble a slice of watermelon, was determined to be functional and not eligible for protection under federal trademark law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a summary judgment decision by a New Jersey district court, ruling that a candy maker could not…
Registrability of Works of Art as Trademarks Recently, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”) and the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (“HIPO”) have been asked in several cases to examine whether a work of art, in particular a painting, can be registered as a trademark. If a work of art is protected by copyright,…
In Case C-654/21, the CJEU ruled on a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Sąd Okręgowy w Warszawie (XXII Division of the District Court in Warsaw, Poland) in a dispute between two individuals. The dispute concerned an action for infringement of the European Union trade mark “MULTISELECT” brought before the Warsaw IP Court and…
The Delhi High Court recently in the case of Coty Germany GmBH v. Xeryus Retail Private Limited (CS(COMM) 1298/2018 & I.A. 8603/2023) permanently restrained two websites, namely perfumery.co.in and unboxed.in, from selling perfume tester bottles bearing the “Calvin Klein” or “cK” trademarks and imposed INR 1,00,000 (approx. USD 1,200) to be paid to Coty Germany GmBH…
Using country names as trademarks poses unique challenges, often conflicting with public order. Some countries worldwide have specific provisions in their national legislation for registering country names or letter codes of states as trademarks. The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property as of 1883 safeguards state symbols from unauthorized registration and use as…
